Officially joining a “forever family” is a joyful day for children adopted out of foster care, and a social media campaign is shining a spotlight on these special moments.
The nonprofit organization Together We Rise is sharing photos on its social media platforms of foster children on the day they were adopted. And the photos are incredibly heartwarming!
The smiling children hold signs that explain how long they were in foster care. Many were in foster care for years and lived in numerous homes before joining their forever families.
Foster care is not always well understood by the general public, so these photos offer a small glimpse into understanding it a little better. In particular, they call attention to what a positive and happy experience adopting from foster care can be.
This social media campaign is only a small part of Together We Rise’s work. The organization supports foster children in many other ways, including providing kids with bicycles, college supplies, duffel bags for their belongings.
The Huffington Post shared a quote from Together We Rise Executive Director Gianna Dahlia, explaining why they chose to share these sweet photos on social media. She said,
With so much negative news surrounding foster care, we just want to highlight the positive with amazing adoptions that are happening every day. There are many negative stereotypes surrounding kids in foster care, but they are just children who want loving families—and there are families out there fighting for them. We just want to inspire those families, either going through the process or considering the adoption process, that it can be done and it is worth it.
With over 430,000 children in foster care and only 214,421 licensed foster parents, there is a real and pressing need for more options and resources for foster families and agencies to be able to better support children.
Hopefully the work Together We Rise is doing to spread the word about foster care will make a positive difference. The images show the happiness and love that isn’t always highlighted. And if nothing else, these precious photos are sure to bring a smile to the face of everyone who sees them!
