Ania’s Bat Mitzvah Project

Ania Lewis, adopted from China through Gladney, has been working hard to gather donations for orphanages in China. Below is a letter from Ania explaining her project. We are looking for Gladney families who are traveling to China to complete their adoptions to help Ania deliver her donations. If you are interested in assisting Ania with her project, please be in touch with her parents Bonnie and Greg at blewis@openviewpartners.com and glewis@texasmessaging.com to learn more.

Ania (white shirt) with friends who assisted with her project.

Hi!

My name is Ania Li Xiang Lewis (Zeng Li Xiang). I was born on December 6, 1998 in Changsha and I met my family on August 16, 1999 at Changsha SW1.

I’ve just turned 13 and am having my Bat Mitzvah on January 7th. This is a religious service where I become a young adult in the Jewish religion. I’ve gone through a lot of training which results in a very meaningful religious service (and party!) on January 7th. Also, part of the Bat Mitzvah experience is doing a “Mitzvah Project”. A Mitzvah is a charitable act – an act of loving-kindness, a deed of compassion. Many of my classmates are doing volunteer projects but I wanted to do something more meaningful for me so I decided to collect clothes for the little girls at the orphanages.

A few weeks ago we had a big birthday party for all the little girls in the orphanages of China. Everyone brought lots of wonderful gifts for those little girls. I’m now sending these over so that they can enjoy them!

I am very happy and grateful to everyone for my wonderful life here in the U.S. with my loving family. I am hoping to share some of that with others!

Love,

Ania

Gladney China Heritage Tours has a New Look!

Li River Cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo 

We are excited to introduce our redesigned Gladney China Heritage Tours website. Enhancements include sample itinerary modules with beautiful photographs. Get inspired as you plan a customized China Heritage tour! Now is a great time to begin planning for this summer! For more information, please visit GladneyAsia.Org.

Come join us as we celebrate Gladney’s 125th Anniversary!

The New York Gladney Asia Program Staff – Gongzhan Wu, Wendy Stanley, Mary Chapman and April Uduhiri – will be in Texas from April 26 – 28th. The celebration is open to all Gladney families! Join us for this amazing event. For more information about the weekend’s activites and schedule click here.

Federal Adoption Tax Credit for 2011

The IRS has released the 2011 form needed to claim the Federal Adoption Tax Credit, Form 8839 along with updated, easier to understand instructions! To learn more, click here. Be sure to visit the site frequently, as the IRS is committed to making regular updates on the credit, including legislation enacted!

Comprehensive Health Evaluation of the Newly Adopted Child

New guidelines on adoptee evaluation and treatment were recently published by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Click here for an abstract and the full article.

Webinar Today!

If you haven’t already registered for today’s webinar be sure to ASAP!  The webinar will be at 1pm EST.  The webinar will include information about our Waiting Child Program and also will share information about several children who are currently available for adoption.

For more information about our webinars and a list of upcoming webinars, be sure to visit the Attend a Webinar page!

NPR Interview – Chinese New Year as an Adoptive Family

NPR host Michel Martin recently spoke to David Youtz, Gladney father of four adopted daughters from China, and his oldest daughter Sophie about clebrating Chinese New Year as an adoptive family. To listen to the show click here.

                   The Youtz family adopted triplets from China through Gladney; pictured here with the Chinese Consul General and his wife at an International Children’s Day celebration in 2006.

GFA Chinese New Year Parties

Happy Lunar New Year! Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Everything prospers in a united family; though events do not happen according to men’s calculations.

- Chinese Proverb                   

Dallas Fort Worth

On Saturday, January 14, over 50 people attended the Fort Worth/Dallas GFA Chinese New Year Party held in Gladney’s Mabee Hall.  In addition to enjoying a catered Chinese dinner, the Fort Worth Chinese School performed a flag dance and Lion dance, and shared the history, traditions and customs of Chinese New Year. Two of the performers were Gladney “babies”. 

New York

On Sunday, January 22, over 140 Gladney parents and children gathered at the Jing Fong Restaurant in New York’s Chinatown to celebrate Lunar (Chinese) New Year along with the Gladney Asia Program staff and Gladney Family Association’s Wendy Lee, from Texas.  Chinese New Year is the time of year families get together, so it was really wonderful to see so many Gladney families enjoying this joyous holiday! 

As we enjoyed yummy Chinese food, an exciting lion dance, beautiful traditional Chinese dances, and fun arts and crafts projects, many generous families spread their joy all the way to Jiangxi Province by donating $500 to Gladney’s Superkids charity.  With these donations, more children in need of therapeutic services will benefit.  For that, Gladney would like to give a big THANK YOU!  If you’d like to make a donation or learn more about this initiative, click here.

Houston

On Saturday, February 4, GFA members in Houston met for a small, casual lunch at Hunan’s Restaurant.  The kids had fun coloring and decorating dragons while parents mingled.

Celebrating Chinese New Year in Brooklyn, New York

James, aged 12, Kathryn, aged 7, Sarah aged 6, and dad Chris!

Kathryn and Sarah were both adopted through Gladney’s China Waiting Child Program.

In school, mom Stephanie read books about Chinese New Year to her daughter’s classes: Bringing In The New Year by Grace Lin and The Runaway Wok: A Chinese New Year Tale by Ying Chang Compestine.

Big brother James took this photo of Kathryn digging into a plate of dumplings at grandma’s house.

Adoption Terms Quiz

In the adoption process there are many different acronyms that are used by adoptive families and agency staff. To further complicate things, each country/program has it’s own set of acronyms! It can be hard to remember what each acronym stands for, so to help refresh your memory take our fun quiz below! Extra points if you can name which country/program each acronym is for!

1.  L.I.D. a. Legal Intended Dossier, b. Log In Date, c. Cover to a pot

2. L.S.C. (also referred to sometimes as L.O.A.) – a. Letter Seeking Confirmation (Letter Of Acceptance), b. Legally Sealed Child (Legal Office Agreement), c. License Signed Confirmation (License Of Acceptance)

3. T.A. – a. Travel Agreement, b. Travel Approval, c. Travel Agent

4. C.C.C.W.A. (formerly C.C.A.A.) – a. China Center for Children and Waiting Adoptions (China Center for Adoption Affairs), b. Chinese Consulate Center for Welfare and Adoptions (Chinese Center for Approved Adoptions), c. China Center for Children’s Welfare and Adoption (China Center for Adoption Affairs)

5. A.I.T. – a. Adoption Institute in Taiwan, b. Adoptions In Taiwan, c. American Institute in Taiwan

6. T.E.C.O. – a. Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, b. Texas Economic and Cultural Office, c. Taiwan Exceptional Certification Office

Answer Key: 1. B (China), 2. A (China), 3. B (China), 4. C (China), 5. C (Taiwan), 6. A (Taiwan)