?Print By Katie Smythe
alexandrianews.org
National Adoption Day is a one-day event on the Saturday before Thanksgiving that celebrates a new beginning for children from foster care and their adoptive families. On Nov. 17 in Alexandria Circuit Court, 19 children and their 13 ?forever families? participated in this adoption celebration.
The St. Pierre Family (Photo: Katie Smythe)
In her welcoming remarks, Judge Constance Frogale said, ?Today marks a happy beginning? for these new families in what has been a long path for some. She added, ?Nothing is more heroic? than the role of the foster parents and adoptive families. Addressing the children and their adoptive parents, she said ?You are lucky to have them and they are lucky to have you.? As she opened the session, she declared, ?It?s all about the kids today!?
All the children were dressed in smart looking outfits for the big occasion. It was not the typical courtroom demeanor with children giggling and squirming and some running around. But it was the sound of happy children and it was a happy occasion.
One of the speakers, Deputy City Manager Tom Gates, defined adoption as ?the gathering up of your family.? He introduced his two adopted sons and professed the greatest gift in his life was his sons.
Briona Ja'Lyn Godbolt tells her story (Photo: Katie Smythe)
A young adoptee, Briona Ja?Lyn Godbolt, spoke to a riveted audience about her experience in foster care with her brother and the path that led to their eventual forever family. She shared the difficulties they had experienced and ultimately the joy of being part of a family with parents she could love and trust. Many reached for tissues as she told her story.
Each of the 13 families was introduced by their social worker with accolades for the newly adopted children and proud parents standing close. The ages of the children at the ceremony ranged from 11 months to 9 years old. Adoption certificates had been completed for 19 children, including several sets of siblings who were adopted together. There was one extended network of three adoptive families that included five biological siblings ages 2 to 6 years old.
Speakers recognized the hard work and dedication of the many people involved in the process leading up to adoption day. Several adoptions were years in the making. The collaborative process includes social workers and other department staff, attorneys, guardians ad litem, and child advocates as well as the foster parents and adoptive parents and their network of supporters.
Judge Rideout started National Adoption Day in Alexandria (Photo: Katie Smythe)
This year marks ten years of National Adoption Day in Alexandria. Retired District Court Chief Judge Stephen Rideout brought the idea back to Alexandria in 2002 after hearing about it at a conference.? The initiative was started in Los Angeles in 2000 and spread as a grassroots effort across the United States.
Judge Rideout said, ?We have to do it? in Alexandria and he started the wheels in motion. He views National Adoption Day as ?a celebration of a new family and a new life together.? In his remarks, he mentioned a young girl?s description of her experience in foster care as ?pearls in her pocket? and encouraged others to hold onto those precious pearls.
National Adoption Day takes place at hundreds of events across all 50 states and the District of Columbia as well as in Puerto Rico and Guam, according to the organization?s website. It is also an effort to raise awareness of the more than 100,000 children in foster care waiting for permanent, loving families. Such events may encourage others to adopt children from foster care.
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