National Adoption Month at JCCA

As November is National Adoption Month, we decided to revisit Heather Mallow and Brian Bowes, adoptive parents who used JCCA's Ametz Adoption Program as a resource for information and their homestudy in adopting their first child, Connor, from Kazakhstan. We featured their story in the Summer 2005 issue of JCCA's newsletter, Growing Up. They returned to Ametz to do the homestudy required for adoption when they decided to adopt their daughter, Harmony, from China in November 2006.

As Heather explained, "Ametz was a great resource and made us feel totally prepared. Kathy could answer any question, both from her perspective as Ametz director and as an adoptive parent herself." Ametz was also there for reassurance, questions, and follow-up.

Each year, the Ametz Adoption Program of JCCA does more than 450 homestudies for New York area families. It also provides workshops for adoptive parents and parents-to-be, many on topics relating to Jewish issues, to socialize, and learn about adoptive parenting and child development.

When Heather and Brian went to Guangzhou, China, for two weeks to adopt then nine-month-old Harmony, they decided to bring Connor with them. "It was an important family trip and we wanted Connor to be a part of it," explained Brian. "He was very excited and the first night after we got Harmony, he decided to sleep on the floor in front of her crib, so that if she cried, he could run in to our room to get us." Harmony, now 2, will be starting nursery school next fall, and Connor, 6, is in the first grade. "Connor has so many friends that he's basically the social director of his class," laughs Brian. Connor also loves sports, Harmony adores ballet class, and they both do gymnastics. Although they say it's more than twice as much work to raise two children rather than one, Heather and Brian are enjoying every minute and all are happy, healthy, doing really well, and thankful to Ametz for bringing their family together.

Comforters of Hope

On November 11, volunteers from Children’s Hope Chest, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping children and families in need or crisis, came to JCCA’s Westchester Campus. Their mission: to distribute comforters to each and every youngster at The Cottage Schools as part of their “Comforters of Hope” program. Valerie Sprague, Children’s Hope Chest’s President and Co-founder, and Donna Myers, Children's Hope Chest's Project Leader, joined volunteers in distributing the comforters to all residents on the campus. This event followed last year's "Duffels of Hope," which provided each youth on Campus with a traveling duffel bag. Many thanks to the volunteers of Children's Hope Chest for their ongoing generosity and support!

The JCCA Foster Home Services Program Helps a Mother Get Back on Track

When you look at Candace Shephard today, you see a confident, articulate woman on top of her life. That wasn’t always the case: While battling substance abuse and mental health issues, Candace temporarily lost custody of her daughter, Dana, now 7. Candace spent two long years pulling herself together. JCCA’s Project Hope, a program providing intensive services to families when children are returned from foster care, is helping Candace and Dana to stay together.

“Dana was taken from me in 2006,” Candace explains. “I knew I was in bad shape. I was almost relieved that she was going to her grandmother’s to live, but I still waited for her school bus till 9:00 at night. I couldn’t accept that she was really gone.

The next six months were a total fog. Finally I got a letter from JCCA warning me that the courts were about to terminate my parental rights. That snapped me back to life. I got into a rehab program, and Dana came every week to see me. We told her it was my school. After I was discharged, I was in a day program for six months till I could prove that I was clean. I look forward to the drug tests now because it’s great to see everyone smiling.

After Dana came home on a trial discharge last March, I started working with Project Hope. I see them twice a month and if I have questions, they help me get answers. They went with me to Dana’s school and we both get counseling. Now I’m getting ready to move us into our own great apartment, finally leaving the family shelter we’ve been in. It’s on the third floor, but Dana says I’ll lose weight walking up the steps!

When Dana is a little older, I want to go back to school and study business and fine arts and open a tattoo salon. I hope to go the School of Visual Arts and I’m putting my portfolio together.

JCCA is the best program I’ve ever worked with. If they hadn’t stayed on top of me, I would have lost my parental rights and never gotten Dana back. I know they’re here for me so I won’t lose her again. The tattoo on my arm is a warrior angel, always fighting for the right cause. I like to think that’s me.”

You can read Candace’s moving story in the December issue of Growing Up, the JCCA newsletter. If you don’t already get Growing Up, please contact us to make sure you receive upcoming issues.

Holiday Gift Donations Urgently Needed

Each year, as the holiday season approaches, we know that, for a variety of reasons, many youth in care with JCCA are unlikely to receive gifts from their families. We therefore appeal to caring individuals and businesses to brighten the holidays by giving our kids gifts. On our Westchester Campus, teens in several cottages still need to be “adopted” for holiday donations. Gifts that the youth particularly like include: Target gift cards; grooming items such as AXE brand, body lotions, and cologne for men; “hoodies”—hooded sweatshirts in size XL, XXL, XXXL (no red or blue, please); makeup and nail polish; pajamas for teenage boys and girls; hand-held and board games; and footballs, basketballs, and soccer balls. For children in JCCA’s Foster Home Services and other agency programs, we would love to be able to provide electronic games like Nintendo and Wii, as well as books and board games as holiday gifts. If you have already made a donation of gifts, many thanks for your generosity and for bringing holiday cheer to our youngsters!

To contribute gifts or receive more information about in-kind donations, please contact Jamie Schlussel at 212-558-9908 or schlusselj@jccany.org.