A Day in the Life of a Gladney Intern

Recently I have been researching transracial adoption for Gladney's website. It is an extremely interesting subject because people are very divided over the issue. Some argue that children adopted transracially miss out on learning about and experiencing their culture and heritage. Others argue that children adopted transracially have a loving family and welcoming home, something they might not have received had they been forced to wait in foster care to be adopted by a family of the same race. An interesting story on transracial adoption, "Transracial Adoptions in Oklahoma Mean Rewards and Challenges" features some of Gladney's own speaking out on behalf of transracial adoption. Intern Allie Reed also found some interesting articles that provide pros and cons to adoption, as well as tips for families that are transracial. Below are some interesting things I have learned through my research on the issue: The first recorded adoption of an African-American child by a w...

As a part of the Heritage trip that Gladney is taking this summer to Russia, we have been collecting pictures from all Russia families who have adopted from Russia, since the conception of the program. With these pictures we are going to create scrapbooks to send to each of the regions to see how their "little ones" have grown up into beautiful young men and women who are living happy and healthy lives. I have absolutley loved this project! As one of the coordinators, I have been able to go through all of the pictures that are sent in and watch these kinds grow up, in a matter of seconds...and boy have they grown! Some of them are now atheletes, some are dancers, and some are over 6 feet tall (as I am only 5 feet, this amazes me). But they are all adorable! I wanted you to be able to experience this with me. So, please enjoy these pictures of these sibblings from Pskov! :) This daughter loves her new family! (7 months) Celebrating their first Mardi Gras! (19 mo.) DISNEYW...

This morning I was reminded why what we do here at Gladney is so wonderful. I was able to join one of our Family Services Social Workers on a Post Placement visit with a family who adopted 2 children from Ethiopia . We went out to the family's house and were able to visit with the parents and the cutest 2 year old little boy and girl you have ever seen. Seeing them running around their house so joyful and carefree made me want to run around with them...but I, of course, remained professional and stayed in my chair. The favorite parts of my visit though, were when the little boy or girl would run up to their mommy or daddy and ask to climb in their lap and give them a big hug and a kiss! It was so sweet watching this family interact with one another in such a loving and caring way. Knowing that these precious little ones, whose mother had died before they were a year old, would not have this much freedom and affection if they were still in Ethiopia made it all the more beautiful. -...

One of Gladney's former marketing interns, Whitney Williams, has been named as " America's Coolest College Start-ups 2010 ."  While interning at Gladney, Whitney stepped into the role of the Community Center Coordinator role while staff was on maternity leave.  She was invaluable during this time and used her skills and knowledge in such a professional manner. Please join me in casting your vote for this talented women!

Today I kind of played catchup, but in the process I encountered some interesting projects that Gladney is working on. First, I signed Gladney up for Gowalla.com and Foursquare.com . If you do not know anything about these websites (as I was) they essentially are forums for you to visit locales in your city and give tips or reviews of them. It is really interesting and they are utilized mainly though mobile devices, a medium that is growing faster than the Internet did in the early 90s. So, if you love your iPhone apps, download the Gowalla and Foursquare apps and go visit the Visitor's Center and the Gladney Center for Adoption! Now moving in a different direction, I also began working on a project to turn artwork made for Gladney's book covers into bookmarks. These bookmarks would be left at various outreach events at schools, etc. The current artwork is a really unique piece of grafitti that was made especially with Gladney in mind. It is made up of words that embody Gl...

Lately I have been working on getting together a training for the staff of Gladney and some of our partnering agencies (through the DFW Interagency Adoption Council). We have been working with The Parenting Center to set up the training for February 25. As we were looking through the list of trainings that The Parenting Center offered one stuck out to us, in particular. This was titled, "Helping Children Deal with Stress and Feelings," and we felt that this training would be beneficial for most of the social workers that would be in attendance. The training is all about recognizing and responding appropriately to the positive and negative feelings of the children of today and the stresses they face. In particular, learning this information would be helpful to pass along to the families and children they work with on a day to day basis. I was especially intrigued by this title because it is not one that is taught on very frequently, yet is crucial to parents understanding the...

Updating the country and culture links for each country Gladney works with always fascinates me. I love learning about the histories, geographies and cultural traditions that each country holds. For parents who have successfully participated in international adoption, there is no better resource than Gladney for adoption advice on how to teach your child about their unique culture! The country and culture links on Gladney's international adoption pages showcase the holidays that each individual country celebrates. China's country and culture page is below, and look they just finished celebrating the Chinese New Year! http://www.adoptionsbygladney.com/html/china/culture.php It is important to teach your children about their special heritage and culture. Gladney's website is just one of the many resources that the Gladney Center offers for parents seeking adoption advice! Lauren Hensarling