NEWSThursday's Child Receives Award from Archbishop's Annual Appeal (07.23.2007) Easy Way to Earn Revenue for Thursday's Child by using a search engine: click here and learn about GoodSearch SPOTLIGHT ON A TERRIFIC KID WHO IS PART OF OUR THURSDAY’S CHILD FAMILYMeet Noah Morris, who turned 8 years old in early 2007 and his 4 year old sister, Sophie Estafany, adopted from Guatemala. Read about his birthday idea that aided Gautemala. more. . . THURSDAY’S CHILD’S RECENT DONATION RECIPIENTS ARCHIVED NEWS
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COMING FALL 2008:
MACY'S SHOP FOR A CAUSE FUNDRAISER
Thursday's Child has done very well with this for the past few years. It will be launched before long and you will have all summer to sell tickets. There are special events, bargain items, refreshments and prizes too at Macy's, and the selling organizations keep all of the money from ticket sales. Tickets are $5 each. When we get details of this year's event we will transmit them. Tickets may be used on that day at all Macy's stores and not just here in CT.
Please volunteer and contact us soon.
NEEDS:
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Coordinator to keep track of ticket distribution and tallies
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Lots of ticket sellers to try to sell at workplace, clubs, friends and family
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People to man tables at shopping centers or supermarkets to sell tickets or get donations.
DONATIONS NEEDED OF BUSINESS CLOTHES
FOR BIRTH MOTHERS
Many of you have heard of Dress for Success, a great program in different areas to help women who have been through hard times get back on their feet. Not all of you know that women are allowed to be outfitted with a complete business outfit to help them get employment, but this may happen only one time. Thursday's Child sometimes works with birth mothers who need help getting a new start as well. Right now we have a need for nice business-type clothes, such as dresses, suits and skirts and blouses, and even costume jewelry, purses and accessories to go with these, in sizes 10, 12 and some 14's. Do you have any you might be able and willing to donate to us to give to these mothers? If so, they can be mailed to us. They must be in excellent condition and absolutely clean. We don't have a lot of room to store things but if we get more than we need we will donate them either to Dress for Success or to another adoption agency.
Please contact us by phone or mail if you have clothing you want to donate. You will receive a tax receipt if you send a list of donated items and an estimated value for the goods along with them.
Thank you in advance if you are able to assist with any of the above needs.
SILENT AUCTION TO RAISE FUNDS FOR THURSDAY'S CHILD
We have a beautiful framed and matted lithograph donated by an artist who is sadly, now deceased. We are accepting silent bids and can e-mail you a photo of this. It is a black and white lithograph of a fort in Novia Scotia. The matting and framing are really lovely as well. We will accept silent bids by e-mail and the minimum bid to open is $450. The artist is Francis Cooley.
Spring Party 2006
A lovely spring get-together was held in March 2006 at Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church in Bloomfield. A crafts and activities table was provided for the kids and the supplies were donated by It's Plasteriffic of Tarrifville, CT. Safari Bob and his mechanical ride-on elephant, Tiny, visited and provided rides for the children and adults. Newly adopted children and prospective families were welcomed to our larger Thursday's Child Family. A great time was had by all.
Here are some photos from this party, of Thursday's Child kids and adults enjoying themselves.
EQUIPMENT BANK FOR NEW FAMILIES
As you all know, adoption is
expensive. Many of us buy far too much stuff for our kids and especially for a
first child. Thursday's Child would like to begin a virtual equipment
bank. Clients whose children have outgrown certain items or furniture and who
wish to pass them on to someone else may give them to waiting families. If you
have such items, or are interested in volunteering to maintain the simple data
bank necessary to do this, please contact us at the office. The equipment will
not be stored by the agency, but the agency will match donor families with
recipients who indicate an interest. Tell us if you like this idea,
please. We are always pleased to receive e-mail from members of our
Thursday's Child Family.
Thanks!
The board of directors and staff of Thursday's Child
Trip To Guatemala PICTURES
Our director just returned from another wonderful trip to Guatemala. This time she was there with three of our ecstatic families and everyone had a great time, of course. Our director's family jokes now that whenever she gets hungry enough, she goes to Guatemala for the food! Wonderful moments were shared with the families and their babies, as well as fabulous meals with our hosts, some of our resources and colleagues there. The trip was short, but as usual, was packed with things to do, including meeting with attorneys and visiting an orphanage. One of the clients, her baby and I were driven to beautiful Antiqua where we spent the day.
We were able to carry some donations and supplies and are always seeking more, as well as monetary donations to help orphanages in Guatemala and in other countries.
If you are interested in our Guatemala program, we have excellent resources and this is a very strong program for us. We work with our own clients in Connecticut and are always seeking paper-ready families or almost ready, from other states. We are also open to working with applicants from other countries who have valid, up to date homestudies and whose countries allow adoptions from Guatemala.
We delight in introducing you to a few of our thrilled and happy families who were just in Guatemala. You will also see a few of the children we visited while there.
Please do explore our web site and enjoy other parts of it, in addition to information and pictures about Guatemala.
OUR AGENCY DIRECTOR AND A
VOLUNTEER FROM NEW YORK MADE A SUCESSFUL AND EXCITING TRIP TO GUATEMALA TO
EXPAND OUR ADOPTION AND ASSISTANCE PROGRAM AND TO ATTEND AN IMPORTANT INS
MEETING WITH U.S. AND GUATEMALAN OFFICIALS. WE HAVE ADDED TO OUR ASSOCIATES IN
GUATEMALA AND ARE NOW HELPING AT LEAST ONE AND PROBABLY SEVERAL ORPHANAGES. WE
HAVE MANY CHILDREN TO PLACE AND NEED CLIENTS FROM ANY STATE WITH
COMPLETED HOMESTUDIES AND INS APPROVALS OR ALMOST AT THAT STAGE AND ALSO NEW
CLIENTS IN CONNECTICUT READY TO START THE ADOPTION PROCESS.
FROM THE DIRECTOR- GUATEMALA TRIP PHOTOS
Now that I have had a chance to
recover somewhat from a very busy time in Guatemala and am starting to get
caught up on work, I am beginning to reflect on the trip and on this work, in
general.
I feel so privileged to be in the position to expand my/our
horizons by making such wonderful friends and acquaintances in so many
countries. I know I have said this before, but this is most evident to me when I
return from a trip and think about the people I have met and remember their
warmth and hospitality. I think that Guatemalan people are exceptional in this
way. Friendships with people from all over the world that were begun as
professional associations and built over time continue to be an important part
of my life. Our agency prides itself not only on our personal relationships with
our adoptive families, wherever they are, but with our colleagues in adoption
from the other countries.
Agency supporter and friend, Loretta Kretchko,
who traveled with me to Guatemala, wrote in a card to me, "Thank you for
giving me the opportunity to see what the world of adoption is like. Guatemala
was an eye opening experience. The work that you do is the work from God. We all
need to thank you and the other people who make a better life for all the
children of the world."
I do believe that we are used as instruments
if we do adoption work. However, these instruments tend to get worn down from
constant toil and stress. Our travels to other countries can be overwhelming and
tiring. It is just as overwhelming for our adoptive families, to see firsthand
the poverty and need in other lands and how many children there are who could
benefit from our help through adoption if they are eligible and through other
kinds of support and assistance. Yet this glimpse of life in other places serves
to energize us and to allow us to appreciate our own blessings, as hackneyed as
that may sound. It certainly helps me to renew my spirit of enthusiasm and
commitment to families and to children everywhere.
In spite of the rumors
about wealthy lawyers in Guatemala, we saw how dedicated so many are to the
children and to providing them with a better future. Guatemalan people seem to
work very hard and very long hours and some of the attorneys who do this work
are no exception. They race around to appointments, speak on their cell phones
constantly and have grueling work days. Our visits to orphanages and
particularly one, inspired us and we witnessed the dedication and personal
sacrifices made to provide for the children in the care of the orphanages and to
offer better care to women in need as well.
We are a small agency and
that is by design. We do not ever want to lose the personalized environment and
type of service we have provided over the years. Sometimes expansion of
resources causes me to worry about that and now that we are stepping up efforts
to collect donations and goods for orphanages in Guatemala, we will need more
help from our families and other volunteers. We have always tried to help in the
countries where our children were born and we are going to try to increase these
efforts. We have many ideas and requests for laboratory and medical equipment
and supplies and items for the children. We just don't yet know how we are going
to collect these, store them or ship them. We will be asking our families to
please carry over some smaller things for us on a regular basis.
Please
do remember the children left behind in the countries from which your precious
adopted children have come. Please remember children in other countries too, if
you have been blessed through adoption.
Our agency has concerns about the
photo listing of children and parents choosing children on the basis of
appearance alone. We understand about emotional connections, but feel that we
must protect the children we are helping to place by ensuring that the families
who commit to them are capable, sincere and ready to go. We also have grave
concerns about the ethics of agencies and facilitators that will assign children
and make promises to families who have not yet had their home studies done. We
often do have children available and ready to assign. At this time we have many.
We can discuss this with you. Some of our resources in Guatemala have many
children needing adoptive families and there is little or no wait with them.
Their cases may occasionally take a little longer because they have so many to
process. Others regularly receive babies and referrals to provide services to
babies and children, but depending on what you want, there may be a short wait
until you get a child assignment.
If you are serious about adopting,
Guatemala may well be the country for you. The children are beautiful, generally
healthy and well cared for as a rule. However, you will hear me say how
beautiful the children are from all of the countries we work with! It is hard to
make a choice, but we can help you if you are not sure.
Please enjoy some
of the photos from our recent trip. Some of the children in the pictures are spoken for and
some are available, but the purpose of posting the photos is to show you how the
country, orphanages and children look. We can discuss your personal desires and
circumstances when we connect.
Thank you! Click
Here To Check Out Photos Of The 20th Year Celebration! Staying around for 20 years and providing the kind of intensive,
personalized, quality services Thursday's Child gives is no small feat in this
day and age. Most agencies prefer to be paper-shufflers and we still prefer to
build relationships with our families and to get to know them well.
We are honored and thrilled that some of the older kids, now
teenagers and young adults periodically e-mail us to update us on their lives
and accomplishments. We would love to receive news of families from whom we
have not heard in a long time. We haven't forgotten you. How about it? Write or
e-mail!!
PRESS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Jesse Abbot or Benjamin R. Abbot
Bloomfield, CT -- September 10, 2001 -- Thursday's Child, Inc., a state
licensed private nonprofit international adoption agency, is celebrating the
culmination of its 20th year of operation with a gala celebration on September
22, 2001, at the First Congregational Church, Wintonbury Avenue, Bloomfield,
CT. Over 200 guests are expected, with children adopted from the US and many
other countries. There will be exhibits of art and jewelry, traditional Indian
hand painting, Latin American music, entertainment for children, door prizes
and auctions.
The celebration is a private event; however local, regional and national media
have been invited and broad coverage is anticipated.
"We stay in touch with most of our families, but on this special occasion, it's
wonderful to be come together and honor our shared dedication to the miracle of
adoption," said Iris Arenson-Fuller, Executive Director of Thursday's Child,
who co-founded the agency with her late husband, Kim, in 1981. "During this 20th year of our operation, several new initiatives
have been launched. The agency has added a Ukrainian program, and is about to
open a program in South Africa. A lot of hard work and many good hearts have
brought us this far," she said.
The agency's clients are quick to offer thoughts on what makes Thursday's Child
unique and has attracted prospective adoptive parents to the agency over the
past 20 years. Dale and Eileen Nies of Canton recently adopted a baby from
Vietnam after working with the agency. "What makes Thursday's Child stand out,"
said Mr. Nies, "is the caring nature of its staff - they are so personal in
what they do - doing whatever it takes to make the adoption happen."
Mrs. Nies agreed. "We always felt we could email the director, or call her,"
she said. "Thursday's Child was always there for us. We'd heard that the
adoption process can be a gamble, with so many uncertainties, but from the
moment we first got this agency's materials, we saw how much of a personal
touch they have; they are right up front and show heart and soul. I'm so glad
we chose Thursday's Child."
For more information on the celebration, please contact Iris Arenson-Fuller at
860-242-5941 (email: tcexecdir@aol.com), or either of the two contacts listed
above Click
Here To Check Out Photos Of The Celebration! AUTOMATIC CITIZENSHIP
This new law took effect on February 27, 2001. If you
receive a final decree from another country, you child will automatically
become a citizen upon setting foot on US soil, as long as one of you is a
United States citizen. If your adoption is being finalized here, you will send
the decree to INS after finalization and the citizenship ill take effect at
that time. The procedures for issuing certificates have not yet been worked out
and presently they are not doing so. You are strongly urged to apply for and
maintain a US passport for your child upon receipt of your final decree from
the other country or after receiving your adoption decree here, if the adoption
was not completed in the other country. You may also still use form N-643 but
will no longer receive a Naturalization Certificate. At this point, INS is
urging families who can wait, to do so, until they work out some of the fine
points. Thursday's Child does recommend getting the passport, though.
You also need a social security number if the adoption was
completed, or an application for an ID # from IRS, in order to file your taxes.
For info on the adoption tax credit still in effect, but we are
hoping they will pass the new law:
For more information you can visit
OTHER NEWS
We are preparing to formalize at least one new
and exciting partnership in the near future, in order to provide more options
to families interested in adopting. Please watch this section for information
and check the country information section for updates.
Remember that we are a full service agency and generally provide
all adoption services in CT and will accept out of state applicants for some of
our international programs.
We are a small agency BY INTENTION, but are constantly exploring
new and better ways of working and options for our families and for kids in
need.
Contact us for information about our direct international programs,
networking partnerships or programs we can recommend that cooperate with us. We
are delighted to make you aware of all options and to provide extensive
information, counseling and guidance so that you can make the best possible
choices for YOU!
Iris
Arenson-Fuller
860-561-8969 860-508-3093
abbotandassoc@cs.com ben1234341@cs.com
Unique Agency Celebrates 2 Decades of Commitment to Adoptive Families
http://www.irs.gov/forms_pubs/forms.html
and look in the list for 2000 Inst 8839 Instructions.
