Check out a couple photos from Saturday's National Heart Gallery Exhibit event!
Love the huge smiles!
Katy and Kevin Laurin, an Iowa foster family;
Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Kelli Malone, Iowa KidsNet project
director, pose with the National Foster Care Month proclamation.
Christina Fernandez-Morrow of Iowa KidsNet gets the kickoff started!
We're excited to debut the National Heart Gallery Exhibit in Iowa this week!
This traveling photography exhibit features 50 larger-than-life portraits of children from across the country who waiting to be adopted from foster care and who represent nearly all 50 states. After premiering in Washington, D.C., on Capitol Hill last November, it has traveled to New York, the Super Bowl in Indianapolis, California and now on to Iowa for May's National Foster Care Month!
When you're a child or teen, it can be hard to wait for anything. It can be hard to wait for recess. It can be hard to wait for your birthday. It can be hard to wait to get your driver's license or to be asked to prom.
Imagine what it's like to wait for a family.
There are over 408,000 children in foster care in the U.S., and about 107,000 are waiting to be adopted into a forever family. How fitting this exhibit premiers on a weekend when we celebrate the importance of mothers, the importance of family, in a child's life.
These may be larger-than-life portraits, but the truth is that these kids don't need larger-than-life families. They just need ordinary, everyday people who are willing to open their homes and hearts to provide the caring guidance and support that every child deserves in his or her life.
Check out the National Heart Gallery Exhibit at Valley West Mall in West Des Moines from May 9 - 15 and at the Sioux City Public Museum from May 17 - May 30.
Take a peek behind the scenes at the set-up this week!
There are over 408,000 children in foster care in the U.S., and each one deserves a permanent connection to a safe, supportive and caring adult. Thanks to Iowa's resource families who open up their hearts and homes to help make this happen!
We'll have lots of events going on during May to help raise awareness of Iowa's ongoing need for foster and adoptive parents, including the kickoff of welcoming the National Heart Gallery Exhibit to Iowa.
This is an amazing traveling photography exhibit that features larger-than-life portraits of 50 children from across the country who are waiting to be adopted from foster care. First premiering on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., last November, the National Heart Gallery Exhibit celebrates the 10th anniversary of the first state Heart Gallery.
We're very excited to bring this compelling exhibit to Iowa! You can check it out on May 9 - 15 at Valley West Mall in West Des Moines or May 17 - 30 at the Sioux City Public Museum.
You're also invited to join us for a special kickoff event on Saturday, May 12, at 1 p.m. at Valley West Mall where Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), a foster care and adoption advocate, will help us welcome this national exhibit to Iowa.
Stay tuned to our website throughout May and June for some special foster care and adoption appreciation events for families!
