The Hub (November 2024)
Director's Corner
Dear friends,
November is National Adoption Awareness Month—a time that gives needed attention to the families and individuals impacted by adoption while also shining a light on the continued effort needed to improve systems and laws to better support adoptees, birth families, and family preservation. At Adoption Network Cleveland, we recognize adoption as a complex, lifelong, and intergenerational journey, and we are dedicated to advocating, educating, and supporting all members of the adoption constellation.
We kick off the month on Tuesday, November 2nd, with Cleveland's Terminal Tower lit blue and white for adoptees, birth parents and adoptive, foster and kinship families, sponsored by Adoption Network Cleveland. Then, on Wednesday, November 20th, I hope you'll join us in person at our Annual Meeting, where we will celebrate our achievements, recognize and award our Advocate and Volunteer of the Year, and welcome author D.M. Pulley as a featured speaker discussing Origin Stories. This gathering is an opportunity to meet our Board of Directors, reflect on the impact we've made together, and look forward to the future.
As we approach the holidays, a season that can amplify feelings of loss or questions of identity, I want to remind you that Adoption Network Cleveland is here for you. Our community often shares that our programs help them shed feelings of isolation. This can be true for your journey as well as it is often helpful to be among peers. Throughout November, we will continue offering our regular programs, including peer support and discussion meetings, family activities, and Monday Evening Speaker Series presentations—providing safe spaces for connection and understanding. I invite you to join us—know that you are not alone.
For our organization, November is also a time to count our blessings and express our gratitude. Thank you for being part of this community, sharing your journey, and lending your voice. We're grateful for you this month and every month.
In the spirit of truth,
Betsie Norris
We invite you to be a part of growing and sustaining the vital work of Adoption Network Cleveland through a year-end donation to our Annual Campaign. We are celebrating an over 42% growth in the use of our services in 2024 over 2023. Due to this phenomenal increase in need, coupled with significant challenges as the post-pandemic philanthropic climate shifts limiting our funding sources, we need you more than ever.
At Adoption Network Cleveland, we offer a mirror to help birth parents and adoptees understand their identities and navigate complex familial roles. We also provide windows of connection for adoptive parents and kinship caregivers, fostering empathy, belonging, and shared experiences. Every contribution to our Annual Campaign ensures our programs, support services, and advocacy efforts remain accessible to those who need them. With your help, we can continue to heal, restore, and empower our community. Thank you for helping us make a meaningful difference.
On the Blog
Sandy Croucher Recognized as our 2024 Volunteer of the Year
by Adoption Network Cleveland
This year, we are proud to recognize Sandy Croucher as our 2024 Volunteer of the Year. Sandy's dedication has made a real impact, helping to create a strong sense of connection and support among our members. We are grateful for her service and honored to celebrate her as our Volunteer of the Year. Thank you, Sandy!
Retiring Board Members
by Adoption Network Cleveland
Lindsey Huling and John Zaranec complete their terms and retire from the Adoption Network Cleveland Board of Directors this month, but both will remain actively involved with the organization. Lindsey will continue to facilitate the Birth Mother Support Group, while John will contribute his expertise to the Finance Committee. Both will be honored for their service at the 2024 Annual Meeting. Thank you, Lindsey and John!
Estes Turner is our 2024 Advocate of the Year
by Adoption Network Cleveland
Each year, Adoption Network Cleveland honors individuals who have influenced the wider community through their advocacy and outreach efforts, improved the lives of individual children and teens waiting for adoption, and enhanced the experiences of adoption triad members by providing information, advocacy, or other support. We are thrilled to announce our 2024 Advocate of the Year: Estes Turner, who has been a constant source of support, serving as a volunteer, donor, participant, and mentor since the early 1990s. Estes's commitment to helping others has been a gift, and we are honored to have had him participate in and help shape our community for so many years. Thank you, Estes!
Journeys of Discovery Conference
We are excited about our upcoming conference and invite you to respond to this Request for Proposals for workshops and presenters. Journeys of Discovery, An Adoption Network Cleveland Conference, will be held on Friday, March 21st, and Saturday, March 22nd, 2025, on the campus of Baldwin Wallace University, in Berea Ohio which is 15 miles south of Cleveland and conveniently located to freeways and the airport.
About the conference: To mark the 10th anniversary of Ohio's Opening Day—a day that 400,000 Ohio adoptees, by law, gained access to their original birth records—Adoption Network Cleveland is hosting a conference to continue the celebration and education. Together, adoptees; birth parents; adoptive, kinship and foster parents; foster alumni; individuals who are donor conceived or have found misattributed parentage through DNA testing; and professionals in the field, and others, will explore unfolding life stories, engage in learning, and create community. Learn more about the conference here.
Expand your knowledge, feed your soul, and engage in meaningful conversations with vibrant speakers by attending a virtual Monday Evening Speaker Series event.
Monday, November 4, 2024
8:00 - 9:00 PM ET
Moving Beyond Awareness with Fred Nicora
For Fred, learning he was adopted came with two earthshaking revelations. First, he had no idea how central his birth story was to his sense of identity. Second, he was unaware that there was actually a group of the population in his state and country that had diminished records access rights—adoptees. Together, the two revelations sent Fred on a journey to redefine himself and find new purpose. Today, Fred's writing work focuses on family, identity, different DNA, and the craziness of living in the Intersection. Read more about Fred here.
Monday, November 11, 2024
8:00 - 9:00 PM ET
A Conversation with Canadian filmmaker Adrian Wills on his film A Quiet Girl
Join us for an engaging discussion with Canadian filmmaker Adrian Wills about his film, A Quiet Girl. The film will be available for digital viewing starting August 1st. To make the most of the event, we encourage everyone to watch the film beforehand. Adrian will join us to share insights into his journey and participate in a Q&A session.
In A Quiet Girl, adopted Montreal filmmaker Adrian Wills commits, on camera and in real-time, to unraveling the mystery of his complex beginnings in Newfoundland. Spurred on by a meager clue in his adoption documents, Wills spends two years traveling from the wild-beauty of Canada's most eastern coastline to the red heat of Arizona in search of answers. What Wills finally uncovers pierces into the meaning of family, revealing disquieting parallels between his own life and that of the birth mother he never knew.
This moving feature documentary combines 16mm footage and contemporary images with deeply personal conversations, transforming an urgent search for identity into a quest to give a quiet girl her voice. Ultimately, Wills honours his birth mother's resilience and, in doing so, reveals his own. The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) has provided a private, commercial-free Vimeo link for registrants to view the film before this presentation. Read more about Adrian here.
Monday, December 2, 2024
8:00 - 9:00 PM ET
DNA Decoded: Harnessing Epigenetic Testing to Empower Members of the Adoption Constellation and Revolutionize Tools for Behavioral Wellness with Dr. Evelyn Higgins
While genes play a 10-33% role in physical health, they can play up to a 50% role in mental health. For those in the DCP, NPE, and adoption communities, being separated from lineage can present challenges when it comes to understanding the biology behind behavioral wellness. Join Dr. Higgins, founder of Wired BioHealth and member of the adoption constellation, to learn more about how genes and other biomarkers can be tested and turned off/on through epigenetics to help individuals live their most optimal lives. Read more about Evelyn here.
Monday, December 11, 2024
8:00 - 9:00 PM ET
An International Adoptee's Perspective: Navigating Adoptee and Immigrant Identity with Svetlana Sandoval
Svetlana Sandoval is an International Adoptee from Russia. She was adopted to the U.S. during the peak wave of international adoptions in the late 90s. Svetlana will share her experience of growing up as an international adoptee, and how her understanding of adoption evolved throughout her teens and young adulthood. Svetlana is in reunion with her birth mother and birth family in Russia, and will share the complexities of navigating a virtual reunion across language and cultural barriers. She will also share how misinformation from her adoption agency left her unaware of her native citizenship status and how dual citizenship has brought additional complexities to traveling to meet her family in person. Svetlana has spent the last two years reclaiming her immigrant identity and will share about her immigrant community experiences and choice to reclaim her original name. Svetlana is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Social Work and will share how her adoptee and immigrant identities have informed her academic path to support international adoptees on their journeys. Read more about Svetlana here.
General Discussion Meetings & Support Groups
Click an image above to register for a specific meeting, or click here for our full calendar.
General Discussion Meetings and Support Groups are held on Zoom, unless specified otherwise. These gatherings provide a safe place where people can share their feelings and experiences, get support from their peers, and learn from others’ perspectives. The meetings have an open discussion format and are attended by anyone with a connection to adoption or foster care, including adult adoptees, birth parents, siblings, adoptive parents, those that have experienced foster or kinship care, or DNA discoveries such as misattributed parentage or donor conception. Professionals are also welcome to come and learn from the shared perspectives of the constellation members. General discussion meetings are held on all but the fifth Thursdays (which occurs in February, May, August, and October this year).
November 21, 2024
7:00 - 9:00 PM ET
Special Topic: Life Events That Move Us into Action or Keep Us Frozen facilitated by Dottie and Estes
Throughout our lives, events happen that may activate the seven core issues of adoption: Rejection, Loss, Grief, Guilt, Shame, Identity, Intimacy, and Control. How do we learn to recognize them? How do we move from reaction to action—decision to choice? Join us as we dive into this special topic.
December 9, 2024
6:30 - 8:30 PM ET
In-Person Special Topic: Empty Seat at the Table facilitated by Amy and Kim
Want to come to a General Discussion Meeting in person? Our in-person meeting, which is now held quarterly, is scheduled for December 9th! Please join us as we discuss adoption-related challenges that arise during the holidays. How do we manage split loyalties, celebrations with two families following reunion, or the figurative "empty seat at the table" held for grief, loss, longing and unanswered questions?
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Upcoming Special Events
November 2, 2024
Terminal Tower Lit Up Blue and White
Adoption Network Cleveland is lighting our city's beacon, Terminal Tower, this November, which is National Adoption Awareness Month, to raise awareness for the critical needs of the adoption community.
On behalf of those that we serve, we greatly appreciate the opportunity to raise awareness for those impacted by adoption, foster care, and kinship care.
November 20, 2024
6:30 - 8:30 PM ET
Annual Meeting
Join us for Adoption Network Cleveland's Annual Meeting on Wednesday, November 20th in Beachwood. On behalf of Adoption Network Cleveland's Board of Directors, and Executive Director (Betsie Norris) we invite all members, donors, partners, advocates, public officials, and the public to attend this celebration of our accomplishments of the last year. The evening will include the presentation of awards - our Volunteer of the Year (Sandy Croucher) and Advocate of the Year (Estes Turner) - followed by a keynote address from author D.M. Pulley. This event is in-person and an RSVP is requested.
Location: Case Western Reserve University's Siegal Lifelong Learning. Landmark Centre Building, 25700 Science Park Drive, Suite 100, Beachwood, OH. Located in a four-story glass building facing Richmond Road, between Chagrin and South Woodland.
D.M. Pulley, Origin Stories: When D.M. Pulley's grandmother vanished in 1949, her four-year-old father was left on his uncle's farm with nothing but half-truths and rumors to answer impossible questions. Pulley will discuss the myths and lore that helped her father survive and how she found escape from generational trauma in writing fiction. Telling stories shaped her sense of identity, family, and her place in the world and taking control of her own narrative helped her reframe her past and future.
Before becoming an Amazon best-selling author, D.M. Pulley worked as a Professional Engineer rehabbing historic structures and assessing building failures. Her survey of a vacant building in Cleveland, Ohio inspired her debut, The Dead Key, the winner of the 2014 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. Since then, Pulley has published three more mystery/thrillers inspired by true-crime in the Rust Belt and sold over 800,000 books worldwide. Her most recent novel, No One's Home, was nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award and named "Best of Horror 2019" by Suspense Magazine. The Cleveland Play House produced Pulley's The Christmas House into a short film in 2020, and her short story Tremonster was published in the Cleveland Noir anthology in 2023.
Family Programs & Events
November 14, 2024
6:00 - 7:30 PM ET
Family Ties Monthly Gathering
We are in a new location! Family Ties will meet at Pilgrim UCC Church (2592 West 14th St. Cleveland, OH 44113). We have moved the monthly group to this central location with ample free parking. Join us on the 2nd Thursday of each month for dinner followed by breakout sessions for parents, young children, and teens. Parents and caregivers will have an opportunity to discuss parenting topics in a supportive environment with others who understand. Adoption Network Cleveland staff also lead a peer support group for teens, and structured activities for younger children including yoga and mindfulness.
November 16, 2024
2:00 - 4:00 PM ET
Serving Seniors Family Social
Charades and Pictionary, Anyone! Come play games with the residents at St. Augustine Towers! (7821 Lake Ave., Cleveland, OH 44102) Our families will come together to serve the elderly in our community. Join us!
November 18, 2024
6:30 - 8:00 PM ET
NAMI Family Support Group
In partnership with NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), this Family Support Group is peer-led and intended for families and loved ones of children (18 and under) who are experiencing behavioral or mental health symptoms. This group is open to ALL regardless of connection to adoption.
This group encourages empathy, productive discussion, and a sense of community. You’ll benefit from others’ experiences, discover your inner strength, and empower yourself by sharing your own experiences in a non-judgmental space. Please join us virtually via Zoom on the 3rd Monday of each month from 6:30-8 PM.
November 21, 2024
7:00 - 8:00 PM ET
Transracial Adoptive Parent Support Group
Adoption Network Cleveland and Transracial Journeys have joined forces holding a series of co-hosted monthly support groups for parents who have adopted children outside of their own race. This group provides an intentionally structured and supportive space where parents can hear from leaders with lived expertise and share their experiences, challenges, and successes in raising transracially adopted persons. This support group meets virtually via Zoom. Click here to read more.
December 7, 2024
8:30 AM - 12:30 PM ET
Adoption 101: Where Do I Begin?
Considering becoming a parent or expanding a family through adoption can be both exciting and overwhelming. There is so much information available about adoption that people often ask, "Where do I begin?" Adoption 101 is a workshop intended for people looking into adoption for the first time.
Program covers: types of adoption; adoption providers, three roads to adoption—public, waiting child adoption; private, domestic infant adoption; international adoption; financial considerations; adoptive parent panel; adoption is a lifelong journey; questions and answers; and ethics.
The workshop is designed to help prospective adoptive parents prepare, build confidence, and make a decision about the best route for their adoption journey. Adoption Network Cleveland is a neutral source of information, as we are not an adoption agency facilitating any adoptions.
Search & DNA Assistance
The Team Behind the Scene: How Adoption Network Cleveland Unities Families
by Savannah Johns
The task of locating family members can seem daunting. Still, through collaborative efforts and meticulous research, the goal is to provide accurate and concise information to those searching for their roots.
"To me, what makes Adoption Network Cleveland's Search Program unique is its holistic element," Karen Wyman shared. "What sets us apart is that we have the expertise to do extensive and intensive research and the empathy, understanding, and ability to work one-on-one with individuals at this important time. It's the wraparound support we provide, offering guidance, expertise, and coaching throughout their journeys—whether someone is just starting their search, during, or after—we're with them every step of the way."
Note: This article was originally published in March 2024. Since then, additional volunteers have joined the team, bringing their time and talents to support our search program.
Join Our Legacy Circle
Help us LIGHT UP and power our Network! With your support, Adoption Network Cleveland will provide healing and fill the service gaps in the adoption, foster, and kinship care community for decades to come. Making a planned gift via a bequest, charitable gift annuity, or other vehicle ensures a stable future for Adoption Network Cleveland's programs and services. By including Adoption Network Cleveland in your estate plans, you will become a member of our Legacy Circle.
To see a list of our Legacy Circle members or learn more about leaving a legacy, click here.
Philanthropy does not require great wealth. When you give to Adoption Network Cleveland, you may choose what to give, how to give, and how your gift will be used. A planned gift may be designated to a specific program, our endowment fund at the Cleveland Foundation, or general operations for the organization's most pressing need.
If you have already included Adoption Network Cleveland in your estate plans, please let us know so that we can add your name to the Legacy Circle. Our team works with you in partnership with our Cleveland Foundation philanthropic advisors. For more information, please contact Cheryl Carter at (216) 482-2316 or cheryl.carter@adoptionnetwork.org.
We Need Your Help!
Volunteer and Support the Network
Adoption Network Cleveland benefits immeasurably from volunteers' dedication, shared time, and expertise. We hope you check out these terrific opportunities. If you hope to volunteer but do not see an opportunity that fits you, please reach out and let us know you are interested.
Family Ties Gathering Volunteers
Volunteers are needed for this second Thursday of the month program to provide childcare for babies through preschoolers, within the structured activities for children under 12, and/or to provide a dinner for the family gathering. Volunteers working directly with children will receive training and complete a background check. Interested or want to learn more? Contact Janelle.Poskocil@adoptionnetwork.org.
Other Volunteer Opportunities
From student internships to board committees, there are countless opportunities to volunteer with your cherished nonprofit! Reach out and let us know that you are interested in finding a fit for your time, passion, and interests. Contact Julius.Jackson@adoptionnetwork.org.
Download a printable program calendar HERE!
Early Next Month...
December 2 Monday Evening Speaker Series with Dr. Evelyn Higgins
December 3 DNA Discovery Support Group facilitated by Becky & Oliver
December 4 Birth Mother Support Group facilitated by Lindsey & Nikki
December 5 General Discussion Meeting facilitated by JJ & Rosemary
December 7 Adoption 101: Where Do I Begin?
December 9 In-Person General Discussion Meeting, Empty Seat at the Table
Our website calendar has full listings and descriptions of upcoming events.
To learn more about becoming a corporate partner, please contact Betsie Norris, Executive Director at betsie.norris@adoptionnetwork.org.