Dear CAFFA Family,
Hello again to our extended adoption family!
First, as always, thank you to our members and adoption professionals for making CAFFA possible! Without you, we wouldn’t be able to serve the adoption community.
As this will be the last newsletter before 2016, I think it’s worthwhile to reflect on the year behind us. In short – we’ve been busy! I’m continually amazed at the dedication and selflessness of our amazing board members and countless volunteers who help bring value-added information, community interaction, and events to those touched by adoption in the Midwest.
Reflecting on some of the CAFFA events in 2015:
- CAFFA Biennial Adoption Conference: Led by Shila Khan (our recently retired president), we had another exciting and informative adoption conference. Nearly 300 people attended, and the feedback we received was overwhelmingly positive. Thanks to our sponsors, exhibitors, presenters, and attendees! Our next Biennial conference will be in 2017, so be on the lookout for more information in 2016.
- Kaleidoscope Culture Camp: Lisa Garay, Linda Jonynas, and all the camp coordinators and volunteers put on another amazing Kaleidoscope Culture Camp this summer. KCC is truly a special camp, geared towards adopted kids. This was my first year volunteering for the camp, and it (no kidding) brought a few tears to my eyes seeing how much the kids got out of the camp. If you haven’t heard of KCC, and have kids that like fun and rewarding summer camps, keep a look out for 2016’s registration reminder.
- Walk for Adoption Chicago: Christy Medley, Michelle DeLatour, Stacy Panner, and of course all the volunteers had another special (and windy!) Walk for Adoption Chicago at Lake Arlington. Thanks to our exhibitors and sponsors for your support. From the walking itself, to the raffles, the bouncy house, and princesses and princes, a fun time was had by all!
- CAFFA Scholarship Awarded: Congratulations to the winner of the CAFFA College Scholarship: Alex Crouch, with honorable mentions to Eric Daugerdas, Kelly Zahller, and Mirae Deimel. They submitted great and heartfelt essays about being an adopted person. CAFFA is proud to be able to help them in their future journeys. We wish them all the best as they continue their Freshman years at their colleges!
- CAFFA.org Redesigned: Have you been to CAFFA.org lately? The old website served us well, but we’ve updated it with the latest technologies and website design to make it more user-friendly. We have an active Blog, extensive listing of Adoption Events, and a great listing of Adoption Professionals for every pre- and post- adoption need. Check it out!
Looking forward, there is a great line-up of activities for the next quarter, including the CAFFA tree-trimming at Brookfield Zoo on November 22, and the Matthew Cordell adoption book reading of Wish (the kiddos will also learn how to draw elephants!) on December 5. Also, we are working on an informational event for prospective families and possibly a CAFFA outing to a hockey game. More to come!
Also, we’re sad to say that board member and friend Anita Snow is retiring at the end of the year. Anita has worked tirelessly on the CAFFA board for seven years as the Social Chair. She was the driver behind many of our great and creative events, including innumerable pool parties, CAFFA tree-trimmings, bowling outings, and other fun events. She’s the adoptive mom of two great kids and we wish her, her husband Dwight, and her kiddos all the best moving forward. Please take a moment to thank her and wish her well ( social@caffa.org ).
Finally – Thank you for being a member, supporter, and strong advocate for adoption. I think this year’s Walk for Adoption t-shirts sum it up well: Adoption Rocks!
