Holt Adoptee Raises $20,000 for Children in Need

Holt adoptee and staff member Jordan Love just achieved his first-ever walk-a-thon — an event to honor the mothers and mother-figures who help care for children with disabilities and special needs. 

For Holt adoptee and staff member Jordan Love, tearing through the finish line banner to the cheers his friends and coworkers held significance on many levels.

“This started out as a small passion project for me,” says Jordan. “I could not imagine it growing to what it became and am very humbled by the generosity of donors, coworkers, friends and family.”

A Passion Project

Early this spring, Jordan presented an idea — a small “side-project” that was both personal and relevant to his work at Holt as a donor relations team member. He wanted to do a walk-a-thon, dedicated to his mom and other mother figures in his life, to help raise money to give nurturing care to children in Holt-supported orphanages and provide adoption grants for them.

He called his event “Miles for Moms.” While this was the first inaugural walk-a-thon, it has meaning that traces far back into Jordan’s life story.

“Having dwarfism,” Jordan says, “my childhood was spent a lot in hospitals.” Each year, he saw his friends participate in school jog-a-thons and other 5K and 10K fun-runs … and he could never do it with them. Instead, he was trapped in medical devices, or healing from one of the more than ten surgeries he had while growing up.

But through every step of his medical journey, his mom was there to care for him.

A Mother’s Love and Care

“My mom was there for every single part,” Jordan says about his mom, Jackie Love. “She was wiping away the tears, comforting me through sleepless nights at the hospital.”

But even before Jordan was adopted from South Korea at age 4, other incredible women were there to give him the motherly care he needed as a child with disabilities. One of the most notable was Molly Holt, the daughter of Holt International’s founders.

“Over thirty years ago, abandoned and afraid, I was brought into the care of Molly Holt at the Ilsan Care Center,” Jordan says. “While at Ilsan, Molly was my house mother, providing the care and love I needed after my time with my birth mother and before I joined my adoptive family.”

Throughout her lifetime, Molly Holt gave similar expert, loving care to hundreds of children with disabilities in Korea.

“I know I would not be here without the loving care of Molly Holt,” Jordan says. That’s why she was another woman he honored on his Miles for Moms walk on May 4.

A Childhood Dream

The day of the walk was an uncharacteristically sunny and warm for spring Eugene, Oregon — the location of Holt International’s headquarters. With a sendoff from a local news organization, Jordan began walking with over 40 friends, coworkers and Holt donors whom he invited to join him.

Starting at the Holt office, he walked along the Eugene riverfront to Autzen Stadium, along Pre’s Trail, and wrapped up at Hayward Field — and at each of these iconic local landmarks he stopped to speak about and honor a different woman in his life.  

Through Miles for Moms, Jordan raised nearly $20,000 to help care for children in orphanages, and provide adoption grants for children with disabilities.

As the realization of a childhood dream, a way to honor the moms in his life, and the means to raise funds to help children around the world, Miles for Moms was a huge success.

“I can’t thank those who supported me during this very personal project enough,” Jordan says. “And I can’t wait until next year and to be able to build on the momentum we had this year and have a bigger and better event to help many more children!”