Washington, D.C.—It was All-Star Tee Ball on the South Lawn of the White House for 5-year-old Alex Thaler, a Holt International adoptee from South Korea. July 16 on a hot afternoon in the nation’s capital, Alex toured the East Wing of the White House with his family, played ball and met President George W. Bush—as well as Baseball Hall of Famer Frank Robinson. Last spring Alex’s mom, Mary, responded to an e-mail from Little League, filled out the necessary application, rounded up a letter of recommendation from his coach, and Alex became the representative for the state of New Jersey. One child represented each state.

Alex’s mom said that the letter of recommendation that was written by Alex’s coach was based primarily on Alex’s love of baseball. “Alex attended all of his games and practices ready to play and to play whatever position was assigned to him to the best of his ability. While Karl and I have always recognized his love of baseball, other parents were recognizing this as well and commenting to us during and after the games. As you can imagine during these conversations, we beamed with pride for our little boy.” Read the rest of this entry »

by Peter Feaver, Holt adoptive parent

Bangkok, Thailand—Even in a city famous for its exotic sights, sounds, and smells, we draw a few gawkers ourselves; I guess we provide some sights, sounds (and maybe even smells) that folks around here are not used to experiencing. We are a merry band of about 30 or so: some 14 beautiful Thai children aged 8 to 23 and a motley crew of 15+ Westerners aged, well, we best not say.

We are spending a little over two weeks on the Holt International Thailand Family Tour, reconnecting with this land that we love, with these people that we love—the birth country of these children that we love.

The tour is only in its fourth official day, but we have already had more emotional highs than an Oprah After School Special. We have visited some of the great monuments of Bangkok: the Grand Palace, the summer palace at Ayuthaya, the ancient palace at Ayuthaya, and a welter of wats (Thai for “temple”). We have been told a college-course’s worth of Thai history, but probably only remember the Clif Notes version: “and then the Burmese attacked again.” Everywhere we go, the Thai people have lived up to the billing, “a land of smiles.” Read the rest of this entry »

Portland, Oregon—First given in 1979, the Bertha Holt Award honors those who have selflessly, and with loving care and concern, given themselves in personal service to help homeless children of the world.

The 2008 Award was presented in honor of Myrtle Croy, the second employee ever hired by Harry and Bertha Holt. She worked for Holt International from the late 1950s until 1976, helping to develop Holt’s adoption work. Korean adoptee Stephen Nelson recalled Mrs. Croy as the “angel” who helped him find a family in 1959, cooked for him when he visited, and joined him in intercessory prayer for his son when she was 99. “I could not imagine not having her to call and talk to, or living without her prayers for me and my family,” he wrote for her memorial. Mrs. Croy passed away October 2006 at age 100.

Holt President and CEO Gary Gamer presented the award June 28 at Holt International’s Portland, Oregon, picnic to Myrtle Croy’s granddaughter, Maria Copelan. Maria drove her grandmother’s old baby blue VW bug to the picnic, the same car Mrs. Croy brought to the picnics, where she was once a familiar face. Mrs. Croy used to travel the nation checking on adopted children and their families in that same VW bug, Maria said. And she remembers that her grandmother prayed regularly for the children for whom she helped find families.

Pakkred, Thailand—Holt International adoptees and adoptive parents are currently embarked on Holt’s Thailand Family Tour, led by Holt senior executive Lisa Vertulfo. Adoptees are visiting their birth country with their families, exploring Thai culture, customs, history and the diverse landscape in addition to reconnecting with their foster families, childcare centers and the Holt Sahathai Foundation.

Adoptive mother Lisa Cahill reports:

“Today the Thai Family Tour visited Pakkred Babies Home. Pakkred houses about 300 children (infant to 5 years old) in the care of the Department of Public Welfare (DPW). Holt has worked there for about 20 years. Our family also visited Pakkred 20 years ago when we adopted our twins Don and Will, now 25. We returned in 1995 to adopt another boy, Ae, who was 8 at the time. We have been fortunate to return several more times over the years, and today Ae returned once more as a young man of 23.

“The most important impression that my husband Larry and I shared today is that of the tremendous strides in the quality of care. Read the rest of this entry »

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.

Susan Soonkeum Cox, Holt International Vice President of Public Policy, will speak on transracial adoption in an interview to be aired on BlogTalkRadio.  Host Dawn Davenport will interview Susan and take questions and comments from callers.

Susan, who was adopted from Korea during the early years of Holt’s work in international child welfare, has been an advocate for adoptees, adoptive parents and international adoption. As spokesperson for Holt International, Susan has appeared on many programs and conferences.  She was a primary force in efforts to increase citizenship protections for international adoptees adopted by U.S. parents, and she has served on the boards of directors of several national and international child welfare organizations.

The one hour program will be broadcast live beginning at 9 a.m. PDT on July 2, and it may be accessed later by visiting BlogTalkRadio online.

UPDATE: On July 1st PBS’s News Hour did a segment on International Adoption issues, highlighting Vietnam. The report featured a discussion with Susan Soon-Keum Cox and Congressional Coalition on Adoption Executive Director Kathleen Strottman. Click here to hear this segment as MP3. PBS’s News Hour segment.

by Gary Gamer, President and CEO

Seoul, Korea—The lobby at Holt Children’s Services in Korea is one of my favorite rooms on earth.  But I am savoring it for one last time today. Holt Korea is about to move to a temporary location while a new building complex will rise in the old building’s place.  Holt’s headquarters will occupy a portion of that new building.

It’s not the room itself.  It is quite austere…consistent with Holt’s emphasis on services.  But what is in it never fails to move me.  Animated foster moms with babies wrapped up on their backs, children on laps being bottle-fed and a whole lot of fussing over children going on.  Most of these children come in for a check up at Holt Korea’s clinic, and today some were being prepared to travel to the United States.  The children are active, smiling and soaking up all of the love that permeates the room.

Holt’s move is consistent with the many changes occurring in Korea. The government determined Holt’s property needs to be more comprehensively developed for a city with expanding business, residential and community needs. Read the rest of this entry »

by Gary Gamer, President and CEO

Hanoi, Vietnam—The Holt-supported Tu Liem childcare facility in Hanoi is a tranquil reprieve from the hustle, bustle of Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital. Inside this bright and cheery center are precious children in need of families.

For some of the children, Holt is working with their single moms, providing counseling and economic support so that they can better care for their children upon their return. Others will be adopted by Vietnamese families. But for many, international adoption is their only hope for a family. Unfortunately, this option is now at great risk. The governments of the United States and Vietnam need to conclude an agreement by the end of August for international adoptions to continue. Read the rest of this entry »

Holt International’s Annual Picnic in Portland — Saturday, June 28th, from 11:00a.m. - 3:00p.m. at Washington Park (in the Elephant House Shelter next to the playground equipment in the back of the park), in Portland. I hope you, your family, and friends can join us for a day of food and fun - all in the spirit of celebrating adoption. This year, Holt International’s President and CEO, Gary Gamer, will be there to spend time with families and present the Bertha Holt Award to Maria Copelan, in honor of her grandmother, Myrtle Croy, who was the second employee ever hired by Mr. and Mrs. Holt. Myrtle Croy was a familiar face at Holt’s annual picnics. Some may recall her blue Volkswagen Beetle pulling up to the picnic site year after year - Maria hopes to drive it to the picnic this year as her grandmother would have done. We are honored for this opportunity and hope you can join us in celebrating Myrtle Croy’s memory of serving Holt for nearly 20 years.

Please bring a main dish or side dish to share for the potluck-style picnic lunch (enough to feed 4-6 people). You might also want to bring a lawn chair or picnic blanket to ensure there are enough options for where to sit. Holt International will provided bottled water.

We will also have an informal meet-and-greet time for new and prospective families to meet Holt staff and ask questions about our adoption programs, so please invite anyone you know who is considering inter-country adoption. We have exciting information to share about the China Child of Promise Option Adoption Program as well as the Ethiopia Program and others.

If you would like to volunteer at this Holt Family picnic event, contact Sally Dunbar at 1-888-355-HOLT

Kara Siert, a 12-year old Holt International adoptee from China, recently made an appearance at the home of Britain’s Prime Minister. This update on the young author of the children’s book Tales of Cunburra and Other Stories comes from her mother, Linda Siert:

“Kara continues to remain cancer free after nearly two years post treatment for her bone cancer.  Praise God! She continues to write with a passion and has added public speaking to her agenda.  Over the last year she has been speaking to 4th-8th grade students about her life, cancer and book. See Kara’s website for photos and comments from teachers. Her book has now sold over 500 copies to date. We are blessed by this latest surprise opportunity to have tea at 10 Downing and for Kara to meet the Prime Minister and present her book to him. We feel privileged that they asked Kara to share something for the video and that they included her conversation with the PM, Gordon Brown, as well. Here she was the only American in the group of 20 children invited and they highlighted her on the video.  Amazing! We hope all is well with you and as always are so thankful for all you do to bring these wonderful children into families. We are so blessed to have Kara as our daughter.”