Celebration of Family Wrap-up

Last night we had our annual gala. It was a fun night resulting from the culmination of much work on behalf of staff, board members, sponsors and volunteers. To everyone that supported yesterday evening’s Celebration of Family, we thank you!

The Please Touch Museum served as a spectacular backdrop for over 200 guests as we honored Rev. Dr. Lorina Marshall-Blake for her commitment to the way children grow up. Entertainment Chair Melissa Codkind along with her daughter Rachel and the Junior Friends of Adoption helped to ensure a fun event. In particular, Rachel’s personal video presentation truly captured the spirit of the Adoption Center and our work on behalf of vulnerable children. Our Master of Ceremonies Stan Hochman and fellow auctioneer Steve Highsmith encouraged lively bidding for one-of-a-kind items, secured by Auction Chair Bob Bechtold.

Celebration Chairman Rich Macha & Board President Bruce Davis paid tribute to our generous sponsors including:

Wendy’s – Lead Sponsor
PECO
Independence Blue Cross
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Sunoco Logistics
Cozen O’Connor
Margaret Jacobs Charitable Trust
Wawa

Thanks again to everyone and we'll be posting pictures soon!

A Busy Spring!

We've been very busy here at the Center this past month. We've had two successful match parties on both sides of Pennsylvania. Each match party also had two accompanying pre-events which served to introduce the youths participating with each other and us, exercise our active listening skills and work on being comfortable with their stories and themselves. If you haven't gotten to participate yet, don't worry, we have another match party at the end of May and more in the works! We'll keep you posted on the details.

This Wednesday we have our Annual Celebration of Family. Ron and Suzanne Naples are our honorees. Ron has just been appointed by Governor Edward Rendell as chief accountability officer for Pennsylvania’s stimulus-related efforts. He is the former CEO and current chairman of Quaker Chemical Corporation. Suzanne is a former Center board member. They have adopted from the foster care system. This year's Alison Award will be presented to Clarence and Denise Armbrister who adopted two children, a sibling group, from foster care. The Alison Award captures the spirit of Alison, the first child with Down syndrome, for whom the Center found a family. There are still tickets available, if you'd like to come. Call or email our office for more information.

Behind the scenes we have new interns with us for the summer, four have already started and we eagerly await 3 more! We love having the infusion of energy the interns bring and the new ideas and input on how to get the job done! Our social network site launched and we are also getting ready to relaunch our Freddie Mac Foundation's Wednesday's Child site. A fresh look for this new season!

We hope you're having a productive and exciting spring too!