DOB: 9/28/1998

In May, six volunteer ambassadors from the United States traveled to the Philippines to meet 11 older children – 10 boys and one girl. After getting to know the children, the ambassadors returned to the states and began advocating for the children’s adoptions at their churches and through [...]]]> Please share Ryan’s story with your friends!

DOB: 9/28/1998

In May, six volunteer ambassadors from the United States traveled to the Philippines to meet 11 older children – 10 boys and one girl. After getting to know the children, the ambassadors returned to the states and began advocating for the children’s adoptions at their churches and through presentations in their area. Already, the ambassadors have helped 5 of the children find their families. Six children remain.

Ryan is among them.

An enthusiastic guitar player, Ryan brought his guitar along in May and played it for the ambassadors and the rest of the kids, even accompanying them in a song presentation. He enjoyed playing basketball with the group and got along well with the other kids.  Said to be very responsible, friendly and cooperative, Ryan would briefly separate himself from the boys when he thought they were becoming too boisterous.

Currently in 7th grade, Ryan can speak and read English fairly well, gets good grades and loves math. “He’s responsible doing his chores,” says his social worker, “and he gets along well with caretakers.”

Ryan will sometimes get quiet when he is upset about something. “When he gets frustrated, he usually apologizes a short time after,” says his social worker.

Ryan has a good friend who now lives in the United States.  He’s looking forward to the day when he can go home to a family in the United States too.

 Will you help us find a family for Ryan?

To learn more about Ryan and read the ambassador trip blog, click here to fill out a form. Once the form is successfully submitted, you will receive an email with a username and password as well as the web link to the Ambassador Program main page.

*To adopt Ryan, there must be no more than 47 years age difference between the younger parent and the child. Applicants must be married for at least 3 years. Up to 3 children in the home, 4 on a case-by-case basis.

Interested in adopting Ryan? Contact Danielle Walter at daniellew@holtinternational.org.

* name changed

Holt runners and aid station volunteers came together to participate in the Omaha Marathon 2009 to raise money and awareness for the Holt Ethiopia program. Nearly 15 Holt runners participated in the 10K and the half marathon portions of the event, and another 10 volunteers helped out by directing [...]]]> Holt Ambassadors participate in the Omaha Marathon

Holt runners and aid station volunteers came together to participate in the Omaha Marathon 2009 to raise money and awareness for the Holt Ethiopia program. Nearly 15 Holt runners participated in the 10K and the half marathon portions of the event, and another 10 volunteers helped out by directing runners along the route and handing out Holt items at the finish line.

Through the team’s hard work and passionate efforts, runners were able to raise $3,565, making the event a huge success! This money will go to provide the children in Ethiopia with much needed medical supplies.

The race began at 7:00 AM, and as the Holt team began the first mile, minds were focused not so much on the physical race that the team was running, but on the figurative race – the race to bring medical supplies to the children who are waiting in Holt’s care in Ethiopia.

Every child deserves a home, and while these children wait for their forever families, the team focused their minds on Holt’s dedication to providing a safe and healthy environment for them. Some runners wore pictures of their own children on their Holt t-shirts, those waiting to come home and those who have already come home, and this helped add a very personal touch to the race. The mood was festive, but everyone was keenly aware of the seriousness of the cause.

“Several runners commented on the picture I pinned to the back of my shirt of my son Jack wearing his most infectious grin! It helped open the door to conversations about Holt and our cause,” said Holt mom Cathy Morin.

“The marathon was a good fit for us to use our passion to do something good,” said Holt mom-in-waiting Amy Becker. “We are adopting from Haiti and it is a lengthy process, a true marathon of waiting. We started a blog for family and friends to contribute miles to our run. Weekly we have folks logging 15-25 miles and we are up over 1,000. Raising money for a quality organization like Holt, doing something we love, is a real honor.”

Juliet Brown and Cathy Morin, team organizers and Holt moms, want to extend a special thank you to all runners and volunteers and their families for making Holt’s participation in the Omaha Marathon 2009 a huge success.

Please contact Cathy if you are interested in participating as a runner or volunteer at next year’s event.

Spread the word about Holt International’s mission by becoming a Holt Ambassador

November is National Adoption Month….Click here to learn about ways you can celebrate!

Many Holt adoptive families have found a great way to raise awareness about adoption and help more children find families through [...]]]> November is National Adoption Awareness month. This is a wonderful time to spread the word about children throughout the world who need loving families, and acknowledge adoption as one way to build a family.

Many Holt adoptive families have found a great way to raise awareness about adoption and help more children find families through the Holt Ambassadors program.

The Holt Ambassador Network is composed of people who share the Holt story and raise awareness in their communities about the urgent needs of homeless children around the world by: organizing fundraisers, speaking at churches, schools or civic groups; or volunteering at Holt events. One of these families is the Burns family…

Brad and Liza Burns are the proud parents of eight children, five of whom were adopted from China. When Brad and Liza adopted their first daughter, Faith, their eyes were opened to the great need for adoptive parents for children in China.

“After seeing the difficulties these children face, we felt called to look into adopting another child, and that’s how we got our second daughter, Hope.” says Brad. “Hope was five years old when we adopted her. She lived in a state run institution, and her room, which she shared with another child, was eight by five feet with a small bed on the cement floor and a Red Cross blanket. The workers do wonderful things with what they have and truly have a heart to help children, but the fact is, they just don’t have enough resources.”

Brad and Liza later adopted Grace and Joy, and most recently, Jewel, who was 14 years old at time of placement.

Brad and Liza shared their experience of adopting older children with 30 attendees in last month’s Holt Webinar titled “Adopting Older Children – Information for the Decision.” The Webinar attendees were prospective adoptive parents considering an older child through Holt’s Journey of Hope program.

The Burns family talked candidly about the grief process the children went through as they adjusted to their new lives in the United States. They shared how they helped their daughters adjust and become the resilient, happy, vibrant young ladies they are today.

“Once we got home and they began to get adjusted to a new home, new adults in their life and the fact that we would care for them no matter what, they began to bloom in their own special and wondrous ways,” said Lisa.

As you can probably imagine, Brad and Liza have a very busy family life, but they make time to answer questions and share their story with all who ask questions because they take their roles as adoptive parents and Holt Ambassadors seriously.

Thank you, Brad and Liza, for helping older children have a greater chance at experiencing the unconditional love of a family of their very own.

Celebrate National Adoption Awareness Month and spread the word about children who need families by joining the Holt Ambassadors Network

We at Holt International want to inform our constituents about a movie entitled “Orphan” scheduled to be released in July by Warner Brothers. We are concerned about media depictions that demean or degrade children. We are especially alarmed about the movie’s negative portrayal of adoption and [...]]]> by Susan soon-keum Cox—Vice President of Public Policy

We at Holt International want to inform our constituents about a movie entitled “Orphan” scheduled to be released in July by Warner Brothers. We are concerned about media depictions that demean or degrade children. We are especially alarmed about the movie’s negative portrayal of adoption and children in need of families.

As adults we have a responsibility to speak out and advocate on behalf of our children. Many people have already contacted Warner Brothers with their concerns, and at least two groups have developed petitions to respectfully protest the messaging of this movie. One group, Orphans Deserve Better, has developed a website to mobilize efforts against the film. Please review their petition’s information and include your voice among those who are making it clear you do not support the movie “Orphan.”

Warner Brothers has already responded to initial protests about the movie and made efforts to remove some the offensive language from the movie’s original trailer. In response to pressure from adoptive parents and other concerned individuals, Warner Brothers has removed the line: “It must be hard to love an adopted child as much as your own,” from recently released trailers. However, it remains unclear whether or not the line was removed from the movie.

Winter Jam 2009, a concert tour featuring several Christian artists, continues to be a major force in raising awareness and support for orphaned, abandoned and vulnerable children overseas.

With only 10 days left in the 2009 concert series, Winter Jam [...]]]> Concert-goers respond to the needs of homeless children

Winter Jam 2009, a concert tour featuring several Christian artists, continues to be a major force in raising awareness and support for orphaned, abandoned and vulnerable children overseas.

With only 10 days left in the 2009 concert series, Winter Jam will finish its nine-week tour on March 15.  During the tour so far thousands of people have decided to help a child through Holt International’s sponsorship program.  Despite the difficult economic conditions, tour goers’ compassion and generosity have surpassed expectations.  Speakers, Tony Nolan and Kim Deardorff, have offered hope and helped pave the way for orphaned and abandoned children to be given the assistance they desperately need.

A recent newsstory out of Tennessee reports on Winter Jam 2009’s record-breaking series.  Also, see locations and venues for the final remaining concerts and sign up to volunteer to help concert-goers as they select children to sponsor.

Alpha Omega News

NASHVILLE, TN—March 3, 2009—“The Winter Jam Tour Spectacular,” well established as Christian music’s largest annual musical tour, is defying today’s challenging economy by notching yet another record-breaking year. Still in progress, Winter Jam 2009’s average nightly attendance increase of more than 4 percent over last year’s record-setting pace is highlighted by the recent stop in Greensboro, NC which boasted an unprecedented Winter Jam turnout of more than 20,000 people.

Despite escalating prices due to the current economic climate, Winter Jam has continued its commitment to the unique “no tickets” policy, which allows fans to pay $10 at the door for admission. Hosted for the 14th consecutive year by Grammy-nominated and Dove Award-winning artist NewSong, Winter Jam 2009’s headliner is reigning “GMA Artist of the Year” tobyMac. The Spectacular also welcomes special guests Hawk Nelson, current “GMA New Artist of the Year” Brandon Heath, Francesca Battistelli, Stephanie Smith, pureNRG and featured speaker Tony Nolan. The Afters, BarlowGirl and Family Force 5 are also performing at select Winter Jam dates. The 35-city tour, which launched in early January, will conclude at the Sommet Center in Nashville, TN on March 15.

Winter Jam’s total paid attendance last year surpassed 311,000 people with an average nightly turnout of more than 9,100 fans. As a result, Winter Jam was the fourth ranked tour in the world on Pollstar’s 2008 First Quarter Attendance Chart.

“Winter Jam’s success happens because a team of ordinary people who have been given extraordinary gifts by God, serve together for Gods glory,” says speaker Tony Nolan. “Each night the crowds roar and clap for the artist in the spotlight. But we are careful to never take God’s place at center stage, and at the end of the day, we applaud God for the attendance, babies sponsored and all the decisions that were made for His glory alone!”

During last year’s tour, more than 53,000 Winter Jam attendees made either a first-time commitment to follow Christ or rededicated their lives to Him. This year, the tour is on pace to see that number surpassed by almost 25 percent. Winter Jam 2008 also resulted in the sponsorship of more than 4,300-orphaned children through Holt International. As a world-leader in adoption and child welfare around the globe, Holt International returns as a sponsor of Winter Jam 2009 and is on pace to surpass the WJ08’s total.

Says Kim Brown, CEO of Holt International Children’s Services, “These compassionate child sponsors are providing food, shelter, clothing, medical treatment and care for children in Holt programs around the world. Since 2006 when Winter Jam began sharing the needs of Holt programs, over 17,000 sponsors have volunteered to provide monthly support for orphaned, abandoned and vulnerable children. The sponsors’ support enables many of these children to be placed with permanent, loving adoptive families. In many other cases, this help will enable birth families to provide the care their children need, and those children won’t have to endure the heartache and hardship of being abandoned.”

In addition to Holt International, corporate sponsors for Winter Jam 2009 include Tangle.com, Precious Girls Club, HearItFirst.com, Stuph Clothing, Creation Fest, Camp Electric and Premier Christian Cruises. HearItFirst.com hosts the official Winter Jam site, which can be visited at JamTour.com.

(A recent newsstory from “Alpha Omega News”, out of Tennessee)

I can’t say that I am very familiar with today’s top Christian artists, but I was familiar enough with a few, and thank God that He is [...]]]> When Juan Ocampo attended Winter Jam Christian concert recently, he realized that God was directing him toward sponsoring a child. The following is Juan’s account of that event:

I can’t say that I am very familiar with today’s top Christian artists, but I was familiar enough with a few, and thank God that He is able to use the music and the artists to do His work. I have to say that I was moved by the mass of youth praising the Lord and having fun in their faith. It was a full house of over 10,000 people, and 1,800 souls were saved that night.

Holt International is an organization that helps “give orphaned, abandoned and vulnerable children safe and nurturing environments in which to develop,” and they were one of the organizations and sponsors involved with the tour. My wife and I attended the concert to enjoy the celebration of our faith, but after the Holt International story and testimonies of former orphans, we looked at each other with certainty of what the Lord was calling us to do. God had touched my wife and I to sponsor a child.

We headed to the crowded table where Holt International staff and all the pamphlets of needy children were. On our way to the table, my wife and I were praying for God’s direction and while peeking through the wall of people, I glanced at the table, and out jumped the face of a beautiful little girl on the cover of a pamphlet. In a swift moment I continued to scan the rest of the table to see if God would confirm who the child would be.

Quite honestly, it’s not easy choosing one child when so many need help, and it saddened our hearts to know that we could only help one. So, there we were still waiting for our turn to be shown the pamphlets of the children, when…One of the staff members handed us a handful of pamphlets of needy children. And, yes, you guessed it; the little girl who jumped out at us was one of the little girls in the bunch of pamphlets. My wife and I knew that God had spoken to us and we registered to sponsor that child.

I took the rest of the pamphlets and handed them to a lady who wanted to look at them and she ended up sponsoring a child. She then handed the pamphlets to someone else and the sponsoring moved forward. Seeing the handful of pamphlets, that began in my hands being sponsored by others was God’s way of telling us that, though we could only sponsor one child, He would always provide for the other children to be sponsored as well.  Me and my wife’s hearts melted and we thanked God for His love.

My wife and I registered to sponsor the 4 years young little girl from the Ukraine for 6 months at $30 a month. That is a minimal amount of money that will help her with her medicines and general needs. That’s the least we could do. I’m sure it will go on beyond the six months, but everything has a beginning. My wife and I just thank God for giving us the love in our hearts to see the needs of these children, and for Him providing for us to be able to help. What more can I say, but to God all the honor and glory.

Winter Jam is holding concerts until March in various cities, and Holt International is asking volunteers to help with child sponsorship sign up at the events.

Sisters, Maddie, 10, and Macayla, 12, took the lead; parents, Dan and Stephanie, and little brother Logan, 3, also got involved.  Both Dan [...]]]> The entire Dietrich family found creative ways to help children affected by the recent earthquake in China.  On a recent sunny afternoon in Reno, Nevada, they held a combination yard and bake sale.

Sisters, Maddie, 10, and Macayla, 12, took the lead; parents, Dan and Stephanie, and little brother Logan, 3, also got involved.  Both Dan and Logan were adopted from Korea.

“After seeing the devastation the people, and especially the children of China, have had to face this past month, the girls really felt a need to do something,” said Stephanie. “Raising money for Holt just felt like the perfect solution. Our family has no doubt that every penny given will touch more lives than we could ever imagine.”

The Dietrichs’ efforts involved baking, sorting, sacrificing, selling—and lots of determination.  At day’s end they had raised $286.

“Maddie put together a bake sale—chocolate chip cookies and crispy rice treats sold out right away.  Her sales alone totaled more than $60,” said Stephanie. “Beloved toys, good books and favorite outfits were brought out for the sale—sacrifices we had never seen before. We knew they were on a mission, and boy did it show! Every time we looked at the girls, they were either counting coins or taking money. They were all business!”

Thank you, Dietrich family.

You, too, can help children through a variety of efforts, and Holt will provide informational materials and other resources.  You provide the energy and creativity. Check out Holt Ambassadors, a new program for volunteers.