2019/20 Annual Report
Adoption Center Leadership Board of Directors Officers Christian Noyes WEDGWOOD
President
Michael Rifkin Morgan Stanley
Vice President
Richard Cornforth PECO
Vice President
Andrew Wiest AC Lordi Conulting
Treasurer
Seth Goldblum CMF Associates
William R. Levy Brown Brothers Harriman
Caitlin Goodrich Gallagher Simpson Stapleton Fires & Newby LLP
Daniel Marut, Comcast
Jim Guyon Campbell's Soup
Charlene Vickers AmeriHealth Caritas
Mike Morgan
There are no unwanted children...just unfound families
A letter from the Executive Director Greetings, This has been quite a year for the Adoption Center! I became the Center’s new Executive Director as of February 2020 and we began planning to work remote and leave our office at 1500 Walnut in Center City by June 30, 2020. We were way ahead of the curve and ready when COVID-19 happened to all of us in March 2020. The staff has been successfully working remote and creating virtual matching events to introduce the children ready for adoption to prospective, approved families, posting on social media all our previous Wednesday’s Child features until we are able to resume taping with NBC10, running PSA’s on KYW-NewsRadio until we can record the children’s voices again and launching the Adoption Center Podcast, now in its second season! We have been this busy because the children ready for adoption can’t wait and should not wait for a permanent family. We will continue to move forward and adapt our work and resources to meet the needs of families who want to adopt or foster and the children who deserve a family. Please join us in this effort, even if you are not able to adopt at this time, go to adopt.org to see how you too can help brighten the future of a child in foster care. With my sincere thanks,
Christine Jacobs Executive Director 04
MISSION
THE ADOPTION CENTER CREATES PERMANENT ENVIRONMENTS FOR CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE THROUGH PUBLIC AWARENESS, ADVOCACY AND FAMILY FINDING.
Adoption Center Impact In 2019/20
129 youth served
928 inquiries from famlies
2 new programs 50 children found permanent placements
6 Match Events
A Decade In A Snapshot
2,353 57 500
Children featured in the meida Match Events held Children found permanent placements
Our Work Public Awareness & Recruitment The Center continues to have an unprecedented presence in media with our programs. In addition to creating adoption opportunities for the featured child, this program raises awareness about the foster care system and the children who are in it through no fault of their own.
Wednesday's Child In its 15th year on NBC10 Wednesdays' Child featured 26 children.
Meet the Children Our website featured 234 children throughout the year and received 361 inquiries from prospective families.
Newspapers Philadelphia Inquirer: 27 children featured Philadelphia Tribune: 26 children featured Bear Good News: 21 children featured
60% of children featured on Wednesday's Child find an adoptive family
With beautiful brown eyes and a warm smile, Kayla lights up a room! Her fun and happy personality make it easy for her to get along well with other children and the adults around her. Her favorite hobbies include riding her bike, playing basketball, and watching “iCarly” and “Sam and Cat,” her favorite TV shows. Kayla has read all of the Harry Potter books and has also seen all eight movies; she can’t be stumped on trivia questions! She enjoys the music of Ariana Grande and Chris Brown. When she grows up, she aspires to be a doctor or chef. Kayla is very personable and outgoing, and she likes to ask a lot of questions during conversations. Sweet, silly, and social, Kayla is a terrific young lady all-around! Vai Sikahema and the Wednesday’s Child team brought Kayla to La Cucina at the Market! There, owner and cooking instructor Anna Floria taught Kayla and Vai how to make pasta from scratch. Kayla was indeed a natural when it came to preparing the pasta dough – this was her first time, and she was a total professional! Vai and Kayla worked together to roll out and shape the dough into bow-tie shapes. After boiling the pasta, the pair combined it with two sauces – a blush sauce and a summer squash sauce. Both dishes passed the taste test, and Kayla and Vai were very proud of themselves! Kayla is ready to find her forever family! She is looking forward to a fresh start with a family and would bring lots of love and silliness into every home.
Our Work Match Events The Center’s Match Events allow prospective parents to interact with foster youth looking for a forever family. Match Events are mainly focused on older youth, and many of the parents who attended said these events opened their mind to adopting older children.
New Jersey The Center hosted 3 Match Events in NJ attended by 31 youth and 45 families with 54 inquiries.
Pennsylvania The Center hosted 3 Match Events in PA as well as hosting our first ever virtual event. The events were attended by 57 youth and 30 families with 113 inquiries.
In March, we held an Older Youth Matching Event at the Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia, PA. We had 18 youth and 12 families participate in a day geared around building connections and getting to know one another. We spent the morning playing ice breakers and making stronger connections. A favorite game was called "Snowball Fight" this called for the group to be split into two different teams. Each team was given a designated area, with a divider placed down the middle. Each team member was asked to write down their name and three facts about themselves on a piece of paper. They crumpled up the paper into a "snowball" and tossed it to the other team's side on the count of three. The team with the least amount of snowballs on their side won the round! At the end of the game, we all came together to read everyone's three fun facts and give them a moment of recognition. Everyone was moving, smiling, and building connections- it was entertaining to watch. After lunch, the group was split into small groups for the last teambuilding activity. To fit the Independence Seaport Museum's nautical theme, they were asked to work together to build a boat that could float in a small bucket. The groups worked together to put their unique spin and personalities into building the boats while working collaboratively and problem-solving how to create a boat that could float. At the end of the day, the children and families explored the different ships in the museum. It was a fantastic day filled with smiles and building connections.
A First for Delaware Tramaine and his siblings entered the system in 2012. When Tramaine became part of the WWK program in 2016, he had various failed placements due to his disruptive behavior. The Wendy’s Wonderful Kid’s Recruiter was able to build a relationship with Tramaine and help him prepare to move into a non-relative foster home. In 2019, one of Tramaine’s siblings was reunified with their biological mother, Cherise. At the court hearing, the judge stated that they would like Cherise to regain custody of him as well. The Wendy’s Wonderful Kids Recruiter helped Cherise prepare for Tramaine’s placement back in the household by identifying resources to support the family financially and stock home essentials and strengthening Cherise’s network within the community. The Wendy’s Wonderful Kid’s Recruiter suggested parenting classes, family visits, and the inclusion of Cherise in group planning for Tramaine at his group home. Cherise’s involvement with Tramaine was a vital part of Tramaine’s transition from the group home to living with Cherise on a trial-basis. Cherise is the first parent in the state of Delaware to regain custody of a child after the termination of parental rights. In July of 2020, Cherise successfully regained custody of Tramaine. This was the fisrt time family in the state of Delaware were unified after a termination. 09
Our Work Information & Referral The Center provides information and referrals to thousands of people annually.
AdoptMatch An online service allowing prospective adoptive families to register, create a unique profile, and match to agencies that best fit their adoption needs and goals.
Chatbot Developed in partnership with Microsoft, the Chatbot is populated with localized and in-depth information about adoption accessible on our homepage. Our Chatbot is filled with comprehensive, state-specific foster care/adoption information to further our reach and provide quicker and more effective help 24/7 to those interested in adoption.
Podcast In May 2020, the Adoption Center launched a weekly podcast focused on providing Podcast listeners information and resources on foster care and adoption 27 children featured inand the highlighting the needs of children. Philadelphia Inquirer
21 children featured in Bear Good News
Our Work Child Specific Recruitment The Center works with The Dave Thomas Foundation to bring its Wendy's Wonderful Kids program to the community we serve. Our Adoption Coordinators each work with a caseload of 12-15 children most at risk for aging out of the foster care system.
Emergency Relief Fund With the outbreak of COVID- 19, services are being curtailed for foster youth. We are working to provide help with immediate needs that arise, including care packages and school supplies for virtual and in-person education.
Meet Rose Rose almost didn’t come to the Adoption Center’s Match Event where approved families meet with youth – getting to know each other while participating in a day of fun activities. Good thing she did! Rose met the Jones Family and she decided she wanted to spend the day with them. And you know what, they were thinking the same thing too! Throughout the event the Jones’ got to know Rose’s humor, kindness, and huge heart, while Rose got to know them better as well! Eventually a permanent match was made and Rose is now part of the Jones Family. All are doing well and enjoying laughing and spending time together. 2020 has been a difficult year for all children and families. Imagine not having the love and support of family this year. Luckily, Rose now has a mom and dad to help her!
Remembering Pat Mans We are excited to announce our new initiative, the Pat Mans Volunteer Program. This program is in honor of Pat Mans, who was a loyal volunteer at the Adoption Center for over 20 years into her 90s. Pat was feisty and determined to get her work done when she came to the office. However, she also sweetened the day for us. She usually made an entrance into each office to bring a small piece of chocolate and chat about how she was doing and always wanting to know if there were more children she could write 09 about.
FOSTER CARE BY THE NUMBERS
442,995
Number of youth in foster care in the U.S
Number who age out of foster care each year
112,000
21,000
Number who are waiting to be adopted
Will expereince homelessness
50%
Will not complete highschool
37%
Will end up in prison
5
27%
5
Financials
The Adoption Center FY 2019/20 Supporters Individual Donors Hugo & Albert Astrada Susan & Paul Baerwald John Baldino Robert & Susan Bechtold Michael Bennie Michelle Bergey Saul & Estelle Bernstein Lauren Bielski Patricia & Joseph Bierman Patti Brown Scott Brown Alexandra Buczek Alan & Theresa Butkovitz Maria Clark Richard Cornforth Donna Christou Samantha Cupo J.P. D'Amato Patricia Daly Martin Dau Caleb Delp Emily Devlin Robert Diep Chandler Driggs David Duffy Timothy Esposito Anthony Favoroso Michael Foster Craig Fox Paul Gambone Stephanie Gambone Judith Garfinkel Marcia Gever Seth Goldblum
Maggie Gomez Mason Green Greer Family Alexa Groh Dan Gummel Jim Guyon Larry Hass Aimee Haydinger Sandra Hearn Thomas Hettinger & Dana Sokso Andrea Hoffman Laura Hoffman Megan Hull Dale Irby Joanne Jackson Gemma Jacobs e Tara Jarman Terrie Johnson-Black Sean Johnston Rose & Steven Jenkins Joseph Kaschak Eunkyung Kauh Kinbar Family Del & Georgette Kinney Kremer Family Barbara Lahnemann Hunter Lanterman Jacqueline Lewis Levine Household William Levy Constance Lockwood Paul Lockwood Michael Lombardi Edward Marino Emily Marino
Sarah Marino Sheina Martinez Jared Mayor Michael McAnally Dennis McAndrews James McCromick Wendy McKenna Michael McMahon Thomas Monahan Calvert Morgan Michael Morgan Joyce Mosley Mark Mueller Daniel Murat Gina Myers Ray Notaro Alexa Novo Christian Noyes Jon Noyes Lyn O'Neill Lorraine & Michael Owsiak
The Adoption Center FY 2019/20 Supporters cont. Individual Donors illian Peracciny Daniel Price Mady Prowler Maury Povich Raj Rajiv Christina Razzi Robert Richardson Mike Rifkin Sami Rovins George Sey Nancy Shuster Steven Singh Al Slipakoff Karen Smith Stanton Smullens & Sara Kay Claudia Springer Amanda Stirling
Rob Stone Sutton Family Barbara Taylor Samantha Thompson Tiffany Thurman Leonard Tinter Wayne Vaughan Charlene Vickers Carmene Wall Lauren Wampler Margaret & Martin Webber Weiner Family White Family Andy Weist Kenneth & Theresa Wood Patricia Yonchek Thomas Zug
The Adoption Center FY 2019/20 Supporters cont. Donor Spotlight Our most generous long-term relationship is with Wendy’s, an organization whose values highlight "Give something back". With them, you can support our work by going into your local Philadelphia-area Wendy’s and buying a key tag for $2. This fiscal year Wendy's raised $93,942! We are eternally grateful for their support and would be hard-pressed to come up with a more generous partner than Wendy’s!
Foundations & Corporations Accenture, LLP AmeriHealth Caritas Boeing Campbells Soup Caroline Sanders Trust Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Concordia Lodge Cowen Charitable Trust Exelon Generation Fraser Advanced Information Systems IBM Joseph Kennel Skilling Foundation The Sylvia W. and Randle M. Kauders Foundation Margaret Jacobs Charitable Trust
Morison Cogen, LLP Morgan Stanley PACMatch Philadelphia 76ers Plymouth Square Associates The Brook Lenfest Foundation The Connelly Foundation The Max & Victoria Dreyfus Foundation The Vanguard Group Foundation TIAA Charitable TisBest Financial UBS Financial Services, Inc Wawa, Inc Wells Fargo Foundation
The Adoption Center FY 2019/20 Supporters cont. In-Kind Donors 1812 Productions Act II Playhouse Barnes Foundation Blue Claws Buckingham Valley Vineyard Bob Behtold Cape May Winery Cape May Stage Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia Chanticleer Gardens Clydz Crayola Experience Currie Hair & Nails Delaware Theatre Company Dave & Busters Green Soul Helium Comedy Club Heyday Skincare Iron Hill Brewery Kimpton Hotel La Cucina at the Market Lambertville Inn Larry Needle Laurel Creek Country Club Magic Gardens Maury Povich Mutter Museum National Constitution Center One Liberty Observation Deck
People's Light Theatre Philadelphia Art Museum Philadelphia Museum of Art Philadelphia Rock Gym Philadelphia Union Philadelphia Zoo Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia Shofus Japanese House & Garden South Restaurant T Tribe The Big Event The Mann The Stress Factory Tyler Arboretum Walnut Street Theatre Woodmere Art Museum University Family Fun Center