Buffalo’s Connection to the National Adoption Center

authored by a student, Katlyn, who worked on our behalf last school-year, shared with permission from WomenElect 

By KatlynG1

There are 107,000 children in America waiting to be adopted.  In 1972, Carolyn Johnson founded the National Adoption Center with the belief that “there are no unwanted children, just unfound families.”  The center, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit, celebrated its 40th anniversary this April at the Celebration of Family: ART OF ADOPTION gala.  During this event, artists from the Philadelphia area created unique works of art based on the photos and stories of children living in foster care.  These pieces were auctioned off, with all proceeds benefiting the National Adoption Center.

The centerpiece of the gala was a commemorative video detailing the National Adoption Center’s vibrant history.  Team QUINTEssential, a team of nine students at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, created this unique feature presentation.  As a semester long assignment, Team QUINTEssential was responsible for sorting through 40 years of history to compile a compelling video that promoted adoption awareness.  During the course of their project, Team QUINTEssential had the pleasure of interviewing NAC’s founder, Carolyn Johnson.

Ms. Johnson currently resides in Philadelphia, but she was raised in Kenmore, New York and is proud to call Buffalo her home.  After graduating from the University of Buffalo, Ms. Johnson taught at Public School #31 for three years.  Since many of her students were foster children, Ms. Johnson “became aware of the many abused and neglected children in the city.”  After seeing an article in The Buffalo Evening News, featuring children waiting to be adopted, Ms. Johnson decided to adopt three children of her own.

With a passion to find homes for “difficult to place children,” Ms. Johnson founded the National Adoption Center at her kitchen table using a wooden recipe box, which she divided into three sections: waiting children, prospective parents, and possible matches.  Ms. Johnson never imagined that her “home-grown” adoption initiative would become a prolific organization with forty years of success.  Named the 2011 nonprofit of the year by the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, the National Adoption Center has found homes for more than 23,000 foster children.  The National Adoption Center’s dedication to forming families is a mission that remains close to Ms. Johnson’s heart.

As evidenced by Ms. Johnson, women from Buffalo have the ability to accomplish extraordinary goals.  Created with the intent of helping women discover how they can make a positive difference in their communities, WomenElect encourages women to pursue their passions in the political arena.  Please visit www.adopt.org to learn more about the National Adoption Center.  Click on the link below to view the National Adoption Center’s latest video about adoption “match” parties.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZd3dAhM_4A&feature=plcp