The Good News Magazine

Kidsave “Miracles” Family Visit Program

This Advent/Christmas Season the Greaney Family, of Easton, is hosting Edwin, an 11-year-old child from Bogota, Colombia. Through their volunteer work with Kidsave, the Greaney family’s job is to introduce older children in orphanages and foster care to people who might adopt them. What makes Edwin’s Christmas visit so important is his need to find a permanent family.

For any family considering adopting an older child such as Edwin, the YMCA is hosting an informational meeting and Gingerbread Making Party on December 20 at 5 p.m.

Edwin will be living with the Greaney family from December 16 through January 16, 2012. The three Greaney boys, Will, Charlie and Joe, are excited to share with Edwin their love of sports as Edwin loves outdoor activities, particularly soccer and basketball. Edwin does well in 4th grade and has high performance in math, language, social sciences and religion.

Kidsave helps older children ages 8 to 13, forgotten in orphanages and in foster care, find permanent families. Eighty-five percent of children participating in the Kidsave “Miracles” Family Visit Program and Summer Miracles® program find permanent families. The “Miracles” Family Visit Programs involve people hosting foster youth and orphans in their homes with the goal of creating lasting relationships with the children and helping them find adoptive families. The Greaneys look forward to helping the community make connections so that Edwin can grow up as all children should, with a loving family that cares about him.

The Greaneys have teamed up with the Easton Family YMCA to provide a Kidsave information session and Gingerbread Making Party on December 20 at 5 p.m. Reserve a spot by emailing jennifer@kidsave.org.

Edwin and his two siblings were separated for adoption and his older brother and younger sister have been lucky enough to find their permanent families. When Edwin first meets someone new, he is reserved, but when he feels comfortable, he becomes spontaneous, lovely and tender. This sincere, cheerful boy has good social skills that enable him to adapt to new situations. Edwin enjoys soccer, swimming, outdoor activities, electronic games, remote control cars and drawing. Edwin does well in math, social science, physical education, science and technology.

Since 1997, Kidsave has helped more than 3,000 children find parents and lasting connections. Kidsave’s goal is to give 1 million children families and connections by 2020. KidSave relies on families in the Washington, D.C. area in a number of ways. KidSave needs families to host children during the summer for five weeks as well as volunteers who can help raise funds, organize events, advocate for each child’s adoption through community and media outreach, and secure support services for the children, including medical, translation, event planning and more.

For ways to learn more about Kidsave and Edwin: attend a Kidsave hosted online webinar; visit www.kidsave.org; follow Edwin’s journey at www.easternshorekidsave.wordpress.com; or contact Jenna Nuscholtz with Kidsave at jennifer@kidsave.org or 202-503-3101.