10 Things to Help and Support Your Friends Through Their Adoption Journey
- Ask your friends if they have cards stating their desire to adopt that you can leave at restaurants, airports, train stations etc.
- Go to your friend’s profile on www.friendsinadoption.org and press the “Like” button.
- Sponsor an adoption ad for your friends – newspaper, internet, or google. E-mail beth@friendsinadoption.org for help with this but please be sure to check with your friends beforehand to make sure they are comfortable with this.
- Attend a Stay Acquainted Meeting with your friends.
- Read Adoptive Family magazine to become better acquainted with today’s adoption practices (educate, educate, educate!) www.adoptivefamilies.com
- Offer services to be “on call” when the call comes – dog sit, house sit, babysit and respect the privacy of your friends who are adopting while they are in this stage of the process.
- Start a children’s library on books on adoptions – see www.tapestrybooks.com. Add books on adoption to your local and school libraries (educate, educate, educate!) **UPDATE 1/30/14 The Tapestry Bookstore is closed, but even though they no longer sells books, they are leaving their site up for someone else to take over if they wish- and as long as the site remains up, it is an excellent resource for ideas!**
- Keep positive energy focused on your friends. A smile begets a smile, a loaf of banana bread and a cup of tea can make a person’s day.
- Plant a “Hope” plant, shrub, or tree and when your friend’s baby arrives, have a celebration around it.
- Stop by for a visit at the Vermont Friends in Adoption office.
