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Adoption is a life-long process. With over 55 years of experience bringing children home to loving families, no one understands this better than Holt. We recognize that the adoption journey doesn’t end when a  family brings their child home. And we are grateful to God that He has allowed us to continue finding families for children and watching them on their journey to become bright, talented adults.
When you begin a relationship with Holt, you become a part of the extended Holt family – and that’s a bond that lasts a lifetime.
In this spirit, we created Holt heritage tours in 1975, giving adoptees the opportunity to return to – and reconnect with – their birth country. Originally designed for adult Korean adoptees, heritage tours have since evolved. In 2005, we began heritage tours of China for adoptees of all ages and now offer adoptee and family tours of Vietnam and Thailand.
For over 35 years, we’ve witnessed the profound impact these special tours have had on the adoptees and their families. There’s something very significant about an adoptee’s journey back to their homeland.
As Holt continues to expand travel opportunities and other post-adoption services for adoptees and their families, we also recognize a growing interest among our other supporters to see first-hand the work we do overseas.
 With great enthusiasm, we introduce Holt International Vision Trips, specially designed for individuals who have a passion for Holt’s work and want to learn — and see! — more. Whether you’re a Holt child sponsor, an adoptive parent or adoptee, a Holt donor, or just someone who wishes to see Holt projects up close and personal – these trips are for you!
“It’s an opportunity to see one of our programs, and to interact with the children,” says Dan Lauer, vice president of international programs. “A chance to begin to envision with Holt as we move into the future.”
For our first trip, Holt will lead a group of enthusiastic individuals to Haiti in the fall. In the two years since a devastating earthquake struck this island nation, a great deal has changed in Haiti. In 2010, Holt expanded our services to provide additional support to struggling children and families affected by the quake. This tour will give Holt supporters a chance to see how our programs and services have evolved as well as how we have moved forward in Haiti in light of new realities created by the quake. Participants will tour the beautiful Holt Fontana Village, our care center in Haiti, and meet and interact with the children there. They will visit the schools we support through our family preservation program and meet a family receiving life-changing vocational training.
“These vision trips – and this particular trip to Haiti— are a wonderful opportunity for people to become more engaged in what Holt does,” says Sarah Halfman, director of programs for Haiti and Africa. “There’s just something special about being on the ground. You get to see not just what we do, but how we do it. And you get to fall in love with the country and get to know the children. There’s nothing like seeing Holt’s work with your own eyes.”
Following the Haiti trip in the fall, Holt will offer additional vision tours to our overseas programs.
It’s always been Holt’s wish to stay involved with our extended Holt family. Heritage tours ,and now Holt vision trips, make this possible, serving as a wonderful way for you to connect — or reconnect — with Holt and continue the journey with us.
Blessings,
Phillip Littleton
President and CEO
Join us on our first Vision trip to Haiti!
 Phillip Littleton in Haiti.
After a national search, Holt International’s Board of Directors announced today that Phillip Littleton has been named President and Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately.
“Phil has demonstrated an ability to deliver consistently outstanding performance in every major assignment he has undertaken at Holt,” said Board Chair Jeffrey Saddington. “We have complete confidence that his expertise in program development and marketing will allow Holt to continue to build on its unparalleled story of service to children globally.”
“I am deeply honored to lead this incredible organization,” said Littleton. “More than fifty years ago, when Harry and Bertha Holt adopted their eight children from Korea, no one could have predicted that decades later the needs of children are as urgent as they have ever been. I follow in the footsteps of truly dedicated and exceptional leaders, and I am humbled by this responsibility.”
Littleton served as Senior Vice President prior to being named the interim CEO last October. Before coming to Holt in 2003, Littleton worked for Russ Reid, the world’s largest marketing and communications agency exclusively serving nonprofit organizations.
In addition to his professional background in marketing, development and nonprofit management, Littleton and his wife Julene are the adoptive parents of three children.
Fred and Caroline Hille adopted from China through Holt’s special needs process. Here, Fred describes their life-changing journey for — and with — their daughter, Marianna Wei.
 Our adoption journey was filled with the usual things all adoption journeys are known for…frustration, anxiety, expense, delays, etc.
We decided to go on the path of Chinese children with special needs for several reasons.
1) We had been frustrated by the lack of movement in other domestic and international adoption areas we had previously tried.
2) As older parents, we were accepted in the program and we felt that we had a better chance of being matched with a child more quickly.
3) We decided that we could handle SOME special needs. We were honest with ourselves as to what we felt that we could deal with. In fact, what is considered to be “minor special needs” in China was really minor in our minds.
4) Even though we had some ideas of what would constitute “the perfect adoption” for our family, we remained flexible on what we would consider.
We were matched with a child in January, 2010 (within two months of starting the program in November, 2009). After continued paperwork delays, we finally got the call to be in China in October, 2010. Two weeks later we were in China picking up our new daughter. She had a cleft lip that had been repaired and other than that, she seemed perfectly healthy.
The actual “hand-off” was very emotional, chaotic, border-line crazy, and made a DMV look like a library, but it was done. Thus began our attempts to convince this 2-year-old girl with a repaired cleft lip to leave all that she had ever known and start a new life in a different country.
The first night was a test of wills. She didn’t want us too close, she was silent, and she would look at us with a suspicious eye. We ordered Chinese vegetables and French fries from room service that first night. She ate the fries, we ate the vegetables. In China, we were constantly challenged by her eating habits, but we tried to stick to fruits, grains, some proteins, and limit the sweets.
Also that first night, we all put our feet in the bathtub and started a process of night-time bathing that soothed and comforted our daughter and began to create a level of trust between us. She bonded with her mother fairly quickly. It took a while longer for her to feel comfortable with her father, but now she is friendly with all of the family. Although she is shy at first, she warms up quickly and becomes the center of attention.
When we arrived home with Marianna, she was over 2.5 years old and not speaking much of anything – Chinese or English. She is now 4 years old and she is talking all the time. She speaks exclusively English and she is using complete sentences and coming up with phrases that cause us to say, “How does she know that?” Continue reading A “Perfect” Adoption
 On April 18th, Holt adoptee Annie Clark received the Nicholas Maxim Special Award for Excellent Penmanship — one of two awards the Zaner-Bloser language arts and reading company offers for students who have disabilities.
Born without hands, Annie has learned to write with a pencil wedged between her arms. As the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports, Annie’s parents — Tom and Mary Ellen Clark — says this is also how their 7-year-old daughter feeds and dresses herself, cuts with scissors and even paints her toenails.
“Annie has always been very, very determined, very self-sufficient in dressing herself and feeding herself,” Mr. Clark told a Post-Gazette reporter. “She can ride a bike. She swims. She is just determined that there’s nothing she can’t do.”
Adopted from China in 2007, Annie is one of nine siblings in her family — six of whom her parents adopted through Holt. In addition to Annie, the Clarks adopted sons Travis and Talbot, 10, and Tyler, 18, all of whom are missing parts of their right forearm. They also have two other adopted daughters, Alyssa, 18, who also has Down syndrome, and Amelia, 4, who has an undiagnosed lesion on her leg. The Clarks have three biological children as well — Amanda, 29, Amy, 25 and Abbey, 21. Abbey was born with Down syndrome.
On Monday, the whole family will travel to Texas to appear on the Glenn Beck show!
For her great achievement, Annie received a trophy “nearly half her height,” $1,000 and prizes awarded during a surprise assembly at her school. Congratulations Annie!
To read the full article about Annie in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, click here.
After losing her husband in a construction accident, a struggling mother of two in Vietnam receives assistance from Holt in the form of chickens and four months of feed — the basis for a small, but thriving, business. Greatest of all, both of her daughters are now well-nourished and attending pre-school. Jennifer Goette, Holt’s director of programs for South and Southeast Asia, reports.
This Mother’s Day, honor your mother by helping a mother! Many of the gifts in Holt’s Gifts of Hope catalog help struggling mothers to care for their children.
by Jennifer Goette, Holt Director of Programs for South and Southeast Asia
 Luang's mom with Luang's younger sister, Kim. In the remote community of Phu Duong, a two-hour journey outside of Hanoi, most families rely on subsistence farming for their livelihood. The average monthly income here is 750,000 VND ($30.20 USD). Supporting early education and family preservation programming is one way that Holt is helping to keep vulnerable families together.
To understand how Holt-Vietnam’s programs have impacted the lives of families, you need only to hear the story of 5-year-old Luang and her family. Although their story is similar to the stories of many families in Holt’s family preservation program, this is a female-headed household that was truly in a crisis situation when they came to the attention of Holt-Vietnam social workers. I met this family at their home during a visit to Vietnam in December 2011 – just three months after tragedy changed the family’s life forever.
I am impressed and touched by the strength of the woman seated next to me.
At only 21 years old, she became a widow and the sole caregiver for her two young daughters, Luang and Kim. I consider what it has been like for her to have the entire future turned upside down by a tragic accident – and I know that it takes more than assistance from a child welfare agency to pick up the pieces and create a new life. This woman is strong and determined. She is bold and willing to work hard to survive. And she is the perfect example of how a few hundred dollars can go a long way to changing a life – in fact, three lives.
Until last year, Luang lived with her mother, father and younger sister on the outskirts of town in a tiny, one-room house constructed of bricks. Although the family was not able to save money, Luang’s father earned seventy-five dollars each month at his brick-laying job – which brought in just enough income to provide for the family’s immediate needs of food, shelter and clothing. Luang’s mother alternated her time between tending a small rice field nearby and providing care for her two daughters.
 Luang, thriving. When tragedy struck last year, the situation changed.
In a terrible turn of events, Luang’s father was killed in a freak accident at work. The family was devastated. Not only had they lost their beloved father and husband, but they
also lost their means of earning income. Very soon, there was little to eat and not enough money available to pay the small tuition fee to send the children to pre-school.
In September, Holt-Vietnam learned of the family through the local authorities. During an assessment of the family’s situation, Holt-Vietnam identified that the family was at risk of separation due to their economic difficulties, but that Luang’s mother was hard-working and motivated. At the time, she was trying to find work as a day laborer, but was not able to find stable employment.
In discussion with Luang’s mother, it became clear that her dream was to raise chickens.
Holt-Vietnam staff worked with the family to develop a business plan and provided funds for the start-up costs of a chicken-raising business. Fifty chicks were purchased, along with corn and bran to feed the chickens for four months. When the chicks have matured, they will be sold at the market or their eggs will be harvested for sale – and new chicks will be purchased. It is expected that the family will reinvest a majority of the profits to expand the business. Over time, more and more money can be allocated toward providing for the family’s basic needs.
Continue reading The Greatest Gift a Mother Could Hope For…
This is Ernestina! She was adopted from China in 2010!
 “There’s so much financial assistance available to help make adoption affordable. . .”
Families new to the adoption process have likely heard this reassuring statement a time or two. But where do you go for these wonderful sources of funding? How do you apply? Are you even eligible?
On Monday, April 23rd at 11AM PDT, join Holt International, Resources4Adoption.com and Brittany’s Hope Foundation for a special webinar on “how to obtain financial assistance for adoption.”
Our team of presenters, including Cherri Walrod, founder and director of Resources4Adoption.com, and Aaron Fogleman, marketing director with Brittany’s Hope Foundation, will help answer commonly asked questions, including:
“Do I qualify for an adoption grant? When should I apply? And do I have to demonstrate a financial need?”
Register today! Click here.
The webinar will begin with an introduction to Holt – including info on programs currently accepting applications, and financial assistance available to Holt families. Cherri will then present a “101” on the various types of financial assistance (grants, loans, fundraisers, etc.). And finally, Aaron will discuss how to apply for financial aid available through Brittany’s Hope Foundation.
Resources4Adoption.com is the #1 educational resource for adoptive families seeking financial assistance. From help in writing compelling grant and loan applications to providing tips for fundraisers, Resources4Adoption offers personalized support for each family.
In 2007, Cindy Kaplan and Mishelle Rudzinski founded the SPOON Foundation, a nonprofit organization working to improve the way orphaned, fostered and adopted children around the globe are nourished. Here, Mishelle shares her story of adopting Bakha, who — along with Cindy’s son Jadyn — inspired the creation of this pioneering non-profit.
by Mishelle Rudzinski, MA CCC-SLP and co-founder of SPOON Foundation
 Mishelle Rudzinski with Bakha and Cindy Kaplan with Jadyn. Cindy Kaplan and I met in 2006, while both in process to adopt our first child from Kazakhstan. Although both looking to start a family, we never thought that these adoptions would also inspire the beginning of a groundbreaking nonprofit organization.
When Cindy and her husband, Tony, brought home their son, Jadyn, he was declared to be suffering from “failure to thrive” — an imprecise medical term used when a child’s weight or weight gain is “significantly” below that of children of the same gender and age.
At 8 months old, Jadyn weighed just 11 pounds and did not have the strength to lift his head.
Cindy took Jadyn to nutritionists and feeding experts who did not have experience with adoption, and she quickly became frustrated. The standard approach for helping a malnourished infant is to feed a high-calorie formula, and continue it past the typical cut-off age of one year, if necessary. But Jadyn rejected bottle-feeding and most liquids. So, Kaplan turned to books and online adoption chat rooms and trained herself in the techniques and diet tricks that would nourish Jadyn beyond the danger zone.
My daughter, Bakha, was 5 years old when she came home. At the time, she was so severely handicapped by an undiagnosed — and fully preventable — case of rickets and anemia that the adoption agency made me sign papers stating I understood that Bakha might not live to age 18. She barely walked and was the size of a small 2-year-old.
Within days of the adoption, Bakha was diagnosed with rickets and given high doses of Vitamin D. Within weeks, she started walking and then running.
She grew eight inches in the first year home.
Although her nutritional status started to improve, she struggled mightily with adapting to her new diet of unfamiliar flavors and textures. A speech-language pathologist by training, I knew how to work with kids with feeding difficulties, but Bakha gave me a run for my money and challenged me to learn even more about the difficulties that previously under-nourished kids face.
As our kids began to heal, Cindy and I couldn’t help but think “what if,” and felt an intense responsibility to the children left behind. We sought ways to volunteer but couldn’t find any organizations working to systematically change the rampant problem of malnutrition in orphanages — in Kazakhstan or anywhere else in the world.
In 2007, a year after our families were formed through adoption, Cindy and I created SPOON Foundation, a nonprofit organization that works to improve the way orphaned, fostered and adopted children around the globe are being nourished.
Continue reading To Help Them Grow and Thrive
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family brings their child home. And we are grateful to God that He has allowed us to continue finding families for children and watching them on their journey to become bright, talented adults.
With great enthusiasm, we introduce Holt International Vision Trips, specially designed for individuals who have a passion for Holt’s work and want to learn — and see! — more. Whether you’re a Holt child sponsor, an adoptive parent or adoptee, a Holt donor, or just someone who wishes to see Holt projects up close and personal – these trips are for you!
