November is National Adoption Month! It is a month dedicated to celebrating and building awareness of the beauty of adoption. And it’s a time to celebrate families that have grown through adoption.
In addition, National Adoption Month focuses on raising awareness of the thousands of children across the country who are currently in foster care, waiting for a family of their own.
Families who have been impacted by adoption likely have this month on their radar already, but any family or organization can recognize and celebrate the beauty of growing a family through adoption.
What is National Adoption Month?
National Adoption Month originated as a week dedicated to adoption in the 1970s. In 1976, Massachusetts governor Mike Dukakis commemorated the first Adoption Week. Then, in 1984, President Ronald Reagan made Adoption Week a nationally recognized week. President Bill Clinton expanded this, making the entire month of November dedicated to adoption.
During the month of November, many adoptive parents share their stories on social media. Organizations, communities, ministries, and families commemorate adoption through events, fundraisers, and other activities. National Adoption Day is regularly celebrated on November 21.
So why recognize National Adoption Month? Family is the bedrock of society, and adoption is a beautiful way to build a family. It comes with its own challenges and struggles, but is an equally beautiful way to become a parent!
Whether your family has grown through adoption, or you simply want to support those who have, here are a few ways every family can celebrate National Adoption Month!
6 Ways Every Family Can Celebrate National Adoption Month
- If you grew your family through adoption, tell your child the story of their adoption. Create a special memory book or scrapbook they can always treasure, telling the story of how they became part of your family.
- Share your story as an adoptive parent on social media. Sharing may be difficult or uncomfortable, but when your peers and friends hear your story they will be deeply impacted. Vulnerability is one of the best ways to build awareness of the beauty of adoption.
- If you are not an adoptive parent, spend time this month reading about adoption, the needs of adoption ministries or charities, and how to support adoptive families or children in foster care. Share what you learn on social media to provide a unique perspective and promote awareness through learning.
- Learn about adoption and children in the foster care system. Children waiting for families are often forgotten or not talked about enough when it comes to our modern culture. Learn about adoption so you can better support individuals and organizations that you encounter.
- Directly support organizations in your community that work with adoptive families, birth parents, and children in foster care. Involve your whole family in donating food, toys, or clothing (depending on each organization’s needs) or come up with a special project that will help you raise money for an adoption-related organization.
- Celebrate the heroism of birth mothers. Birth mothers are heroic for the selfless love they give to their child in giving them life, and then entrusting them to a loving family. Seek out ways to support these heroic moms either with monetary donations, education resources, or career development assistance.
You don’t have to be an adoptive family to celebrate National Adoption Month! Adoption is a profoundly beautiful experience that honors the dignity of all life, and any individual, couple, or family can benefit from recognizing and supporting this truth.
The Guiding Star Project Supports Families!
At the Guiding Star Project, we believe that the family is the bedrock of society. It is where we first learn love and virtue, and it gives us a solid foundation to embrace who we were created to be. Our affiliate centers actively work to support families with services and support, from childbirth and postpartum care to drop-in childcare services for parents using our centers. We support men, women, and children in the sacred space of the family to help make sure each family we work with is well-cared for.
Share this post to spread awareness about National Adoption Month!
Whether you are an adoptive family or not, there is much to celebrate during November, National Adoption Month! Share this post to help spread awareness of adoption and the many ways it can be recognized this month!
As the mother of a Birth Mother, I know this is an extremely tough decision to make to place a baby for adoption, but my daughter wanted to give her child what she couldn’t, and that was a loving father. She found this for her baby through a beautiful adoption process. She was so blessed to find a wonderful loving couple who dearly wanted children of their own, but were not able. This open adoption happened through Catholic Charities who supported her physically, emotionally, spiritually, and financially through her pregnancy. We have all “adopted” each other and now all of us have a “bonus family” as we share our love for the precious child who joins us all together. The baby, now a young lady of 5 years old, was the Flower Girl in her Birth Mother’s wedding just this month, which was a dream come true for all. We are all thankful for the love that this child has brought to everyone in the family, including me as her “Birth Grandmother.” Yes, adoption is a wonderful and blessed option!