Since FIA’s founding in 1982, over 1,000 children
have become part of loving families. Many of these children are now teenagers
and young adults, and they are beginning to return to FIA to read their case files.
After legal and parental permission is granted, they visit FIA with their families
or sometimes alone. Often nervous and emotional, they now have to explore these
most personal of documents at FIA’s kitchen table amidst the hustle-bustle of
office activities. Moreover, the files themselves – while organized and locked
– are stored in non-fireproofed metal cabinets in the offices of our rented wooden
farmhouse.
Our original family case files – your family
files – are irreplaceable and it is critical that we
ensure their protection forever. And, as more children
come of age, these file-searching visits to FIA will
become more commonplace. We want to provide an experience
that respects – and reflects – the deeply personal nature
of their visits. |
LEARN MORE ...
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We
have designed an addition to our farmhouse offices that
will incorporate a Family History Center – a fireproofed
case file vault, private reading and consultation spaces,
and an outdoor garden area for quiet contemplation.
This addition will meet other long-time agency needs
as well, by housing a lovely great room for Get Acquainted
Weekends, seminars, and conferences.
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Neither
of my kids have open relationships with their birth parents, so for them, those
old “closed adoption” mysteries are out there. I fully expect that come about
2020, one or both will want to satisfy their natural curiosity and journey to
Middletown Springs to see their files. I have been thinking about what their experience
would, and should, be like once they get there. If we succeed with
this campaign, my kids won’t just find an unsecured file room. Instead, they will
find a place to sit comfortably, privately, with all the time they need to begin
this part of their adoption journey. And, until then, I won’t worry about the
safety or accessibility of those original files, because through this campaign,
they will be protected forever in that South Street farmhouse.
-- Jeff Bender, Capital Campaign Chair & FIA Board Member 
Jeff
and Louise with children Emma and James
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