A message from our
Founder
The
Heart Gallery®,
Then
and Now
By
Diane Granito
The
first Heart Gallery® was born in New Mexico in March
2001, thanks to the generosity, hard work and
determination of many extraordinary people who
believed in this remarkable new cause. Though the
project sprang from the adoption outreach efforts of
New Mexico's Children, Youth and Families Department,
it quickly became a grass roots-supported program
which let New Mexico communities know about the
many children in foster care in need of adoptive
parents. Talented photographers had captured our
"waiting children" in all their uniqueness -with
stirring results. During the opening night reception
we found homes for six of these children, including
the three young sisters dressed as fairy
princesses. More followed as the exhibit toured
the state. We knew we were on to
something.
Due to the blessing of
extensive national publicity, the project began to
grow, and with each exposure, more child advocates
came on board to help children in their state find
families. It is now a mainstay of adoption recruitment
and awareness-raising in almost every state (with many
states having more than one group), and Canada is
planning two openings in the spring.
In
the past few years, many exciting developments have
taken place:
-Heart Gallery® of America, a
national non-profit, was formed, and its exceptional
Board of Directors, with the pro bono help of Patton
Boggs Law Firm, have helped this young organization
make great progress;
-heartgalleryofamerica.org,
thanks in large part to the pro bono work of Ella
Zamora, was expanded and is an important tool for
Heart Gallery® planners and prospective adoptive
families;
-"The Girl in the Window", a story in a
Tampa newspaper about a feral child adopted through
their exceptional Heart Gallery®, garnered a Pulitzer
for the author and led to an appearance of the
adoptive family on Oprah;
-Belgian public TV
completed a documentary featuring the Heart Gallery®,
helping show Europeans that they could and should help
their foster children find families instead of letting
them age out.
With 118, 000 children
waiting for families around the nation, the task of
finding homes for all of them can seem daunting. By
having these children step from the shadows into the
light, however, Heart Gallery® planners and supporters
like you can help find homes for them, one child or
sibling group at a time. Thanks to your hard work,
generosity and support, many children are one step
closer to being in the best portrait of all: a family
portrait which includes them, safe and happy and
looking forward to the bright futures they
deserve.
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Heart Gallery® of America
2010
Timeline
January 1, 2010
- March 31, 2010
- Heart Gallery® of America website updated and
rebuilt.
- Inaugural edition of the quarterly Heart
Gallery® of America newsletter distributed to Heart
Galleries across the nation.
- Heart Gallery® of America survey distributed to
Heart Galleries to update information, and determine
needs.
- Regional directors chosen to head each of
the 8 regional chapters nationwide
April 1,
2010 - June 30, 2010
- Current president of Heart Gallery® of America,
Matthew Straeb, completes his 2 year term. New Heart
Gallery of America president, Christy Obie-Barrett,
founder of A Family for Every Child, and Lane County
Heart Gallery® in Oregon becomes new
President.
- Heart Gallery® groups nationwide invited to join
Heart Gallery® of America Coalition. The goal of
Heart Gallery® of America Coalition is to increase
the impact, influence and effectiveness of each
Heart Gallery® nationwide, and to promote,
strengthen and advance the cause of raising
awareness and finding loving, adoptive families for
children in foster care in need of "forever homes".
- Heart Gallery® of America newsletter features
updated information on national Heart Galleries
gathered from surveys, the regional directors
appointment announcements, and the results of the
needs assessment.
- Heart Gallery® NYC presents fundraiser, portion
of proceeds to benefit Heart Gallery of
America
July 1,
2010 - Sept. 30, 2010
- Regional Directors and Board Bi-Annual phone
conference takes place
- Preparation for First Annual Heart Gallery® of
America Portrait Exhibit, to take place in November,
National Adoption Month, featuring portraits from
Heart Galleries nationwide.
- Newsletter announces Heart Gallery® of America
Portrait Exhibit committees and committee
openings.
- Sponsors solicited for Heart Gallery® of America
National Gallery.
Oct. 1,
2010 - December 31, 2010
- Launch of a national media campaign promoting
the first annual Heart Gallery® of America Portrait
Exhibit, and raising awareness about the needs of
foster children.
- Newsletter distributes year-end survey
distributed nationwide to Heart Galleries to
determine specific needs for 2011.
- Year-end board meeting to determine Heart
Gallery® of America 2011 needs and
assessments."
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A message from our
President
"I would like
to add my welcome and thank you for your tireless
efforts to make the Heart Galleries across the country
so successful. Diane Granito, our Founder outlined the
progress our Heart Gallery® Nation has
accomplished. It's exciting that a Heart
Gallery® of Canada has been established. The
numbers are impressive, and in the past year we have
hit some huge milestones. A national brand has been
established that promotes, protects and supports Heart
Gallery® efforts across the nation and positions Heart
Gallery® to go worldwide.
Our most
powerful tool is the website and we plan to enhance it
by aggregating the photos and useful information to
encourage the use and promote it as a
destination. The pictures look beautiful on a
computer display and allow the children to be viewed
as the photographers intended. Last year, the Heart
Gallery® of America website generated over three
million page views and that number is increasing
every month. Prospective adoptive parents
appreciate the ability to visit one site and click
through to local Heart Galleries. We have heard from
some Heart Galleries that the referral rate from the
Heart Gallery® of America website exceeds 25% of their
total inquiries.
More numbers: the Heart
Galleries across the United States have been a part of
over 5,000 adoptions with 4,500 photographers and over
20, 000 volunteers supporting this tremendous
achievement.
We would like to thank the
thousands of caring and loving people who have worked
so hard to make the Heart Gallery® a success. It is an
honor and a privilege to serve the courageous children
we represent.
Matthew
Straeb
President
Heart Gallery® of America
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Heart Gallery® of
America
Regional
Directors
An integral part of
the Heart Gallery of America's mission is to provide
assistance and resources to Heart Gallery chapters
nationwide to support their adoptive recruitment
efforts.
In order to learn more about the
individual Heart Galleries and potentially offer
assistance to positively impact your work, we are
forming regional chapters.
The regions are as
follows:
1. NORTHEAST (MID)
REGION: NY, NJ, PA, CT , MA, DE, DC,
MD
2. NORTHEAST (NEW
ENGLAND) RI, ME, VT,
NH
3. SOUTH ATLANTIC
REGION:WVA,VA, NC, SC, GA, FL,
4. MIDWEST (WEST NORTH
CENTRAL): ND,SD,NE, KS, MO, IA,
MN
5. MIDWEST (EAST NORTH
CENTRAL): WI, MI, IL, IN,
OH
6. SOUTH CENTRAL REGION:
OK, TY, AR, LA, KY, TN, MS,
AL
7. WEST (PACIFIC)
REGION: WA, OR, CA, AK,
HI
8. WEST (MOUNTAIN)
REGION: MT, ID, NV, WY, AZ, UT ,CO,
NM
Each region will be headed by a Regional
Director who will be responsible for keeping in
contact with their neighboring Heart Galleries,
providing support and camaraderie, exploring
collaborative recruitment efforts, maintaining
integrity, and requesting tracking statistics to
assist with national grant applications. Regional
Directors will report back to the Board of Directors
twice yearly with updates.
We will be sending
you a survey in a separate email. Please
complete this questionnaire which
will be reviewed
by the Board and Advisory Board. Heart Gallery
Directors will be selected from each region and
invited to serve as Regional Directors. Please
indicate on the questionnaire whether you are
interested in heading up your region.
Please note
that the primary goal of the questionnaire survey is
to learn about each of the individual galleries so
that HGA can begin to understand your needs, and
eventually offer grants to assist you with your
efforts.
Thank you for taking the time to fill out
the survey, and for all that you do!
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A Success Story from the
Heart Gallery® of NYC!
Meet
Chris, John, Danny, Eddie, Nick, Ricky, Katerina and
Brooklyn!
Chris contacted us in October 2007
after seeing Danny's photo on the Heart Gallery® NYC
website.
The Heart Gallery® project already
held a special place in her heart as she had adopted
her son, Ricky through the Jacksonville Heart
Gallery®.
Chris and her family met Danny
and learned that he had a brother, Eddie. With open
hearts, they decided that they would adopt Eddie
too!
At the Heart Gallery® NYC Holiday
Party, they met Nick, a best friend of Danny and
Eddie...and decided to complete their family by
adopting all three young men!
Their adoption
finalized on November 6, 2008! Congratulations
to this very special, loving family!
* Special
thanks to Abbott House and everyone who helped this
family's dream come true!
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A Success Story from the Heart
Gallery® of Broward County...
Brothers Find Their Forever
Family!
Eric and Latravis, ages 6 and 7, officially
became Monique Gray's sixth and seventh children on
Adoption Day. A divorced, single mom, Monique just
loves children and says that she's still open to
adopting more! Adoption was a family decision and
several of Monique's children were with her at her
computer when she starting looking for potential
siblings on the Heart Gallery of Broward County
website. They were immediately drawn to these two
brothers and the boys are thrilled to now be a part of
her loving family.
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A Success Story from the Heart
Gallery® of Tampa
Shelly is a registered nurse with no children of
her own. She fell in love with Tyler's photo and story
in the Heart Gallery® of Tampa Bay and despite his
severe medical needs, Shelly just knew Tyler belonged
with her. After four years of being featured in the
Heart Gallery® and 9 years in the system, Tyler
finally found his forever home. To celebrate this
remarkable occasion, the presiding judge, child
advocates and legal team allowed Tyler's adoption
finalization to be moved from the courtroom to the
Heart Gallery headquarters, as part of the Heart
Gallery's annual opening reception. Long-time
supporters, donors and partner agencies of the gallery
were able to see the outcome of their dedication to
this program and witnessed this special event that
marked the beginning of Tyler and Shelly's adventure
as a forever family.
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Dear Heart Gallery®
Directors: