Past Grant Recipients

  Groundbreaking Nonprofit Organization Helps 7 Children Find Their Forever Families

Helpusadopt.org supports couples and individuals regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, gender, marital status and sexual orientation

 NEW YORK, NY June 13, 2011 — “Once in awhile an organization comes around to offer a silver lining to those in need.  Helpusadopt.org is just that kind of an organization.” examiner.com

Last week, Helpusadopt.org, a national 501c3 organization that awards grants to those pursuing adoption, awarded $60,000 in adoption grants (ranging from $3,500 to $15,000) to 7 diverse families across the country.  Twice annually (June and December) the organization distributes grants in amounts up to $15,000 to help with the costs of adoption.  Since its inception in 2007, Helpusadopt.org has awarded 50 grants totaling $360,000 to recipients across the country. 
 
The June 2011 grant recipients include: A single man in Virginia, an LGBT couple in Idaho, a single woman in Virginia, a heterosexual married couple in Florida, an LGBT couple in Indiana, a heterosexual married couple in Pennsylvania and a single woman in Ohio.  Their journeys to parenthood are all compelling and unique, but their reality is the same: they all need a little financial help to complete the cost of their adoptions. 
 
“This grant cycle is especially meaningful to me,” states co-founder Becky Fawcett.  “Not only did we award a grant to every type of family we support, we awarded significant, life changing grants to help these recipients bring their children home.” 
 
Funded primarily by donations, the organization seeks to make the dream of parenthood possible for those who may have exhausted other financial resources in their quest to build their family.  Adoption is expensive: the average adoption costs $30,000 and it doesn’t matter who you are or where you live. The high cost of adoption frequently presents a financial obstacle for families wishing to build their families through adoption. 
 
“We created Helpusadopt.org in 2007 because there was a need in the United States for a non-judgmental, non-discriminatory adoption grant program. We are proud of the fact that Helpusadopt.org does not define family.  There are millions of children around the globe that need homes and so many people who want to open their homes and their hearts, but need a little help financially with the cost of adoption---that’s why we’re here, we help build families through adoption.” said Becky Fawcett, co-founder and executive director of Helpusadopt.org. Fawcett, an adoptive mother herself understands all too well the difficulties that many adoptive families face in their journey to become parents.
 
“On ‘Grant Day’ when I make the calls to the recipients, most frequently they say ‘you have no idea how much this will help me/us.’ We do understand, I tell them, that’s why we are here and we are so glad we were able to help.  I think it’s as emotional for me as it is for the recipients, we put so much effort into what we do and it’s the ultimate reward to be able to give it all away.” Explains Fawcett, “the grant recipients also want to know why we do what we do and that’s an easy question to answer.  Not a day goes by where I don’t look at my two children and feel grateful to be a mom.  On a daily basis I ask myself, what if I hadn’t been able to afford adoption (twice)?  What would that have meant for my life? That is why we do what we do and I am forever grateful that over 1,000 donors feel the same way.”  Fawcett was recently recognized as a 2011 CNN Hero for her pro-bono work with Helpusadopt.org –the segment is posted on the Helpusadopt.org home page.  Fawcett’s blog, An Infertile Blonde (www.infertileblonde.com) was also recognized by Adoptive Families Magazine as one of the Top 20 Infertility/Adoption blogs of 2011. 
 
Helpusadopt.org is the only organization of its kind that does not define family, does not charge it’s applicants to apply and supports all types of adoption (domestic, international, special needs and foster care).  Helpusadopt.org grants are awarded regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, gender, marital status or sexual orientation.
 
Grant money is raised annually through special events, the sale of Helpusadopt.org bracelets and private donations.  “We simply couldn’t do a thing without the support of so many generous donors,” stressed Fawcett.  “Our number of applications increases every grant cycle.  We’ve identified a need so great that we cannot come close to filling all the requests, but we are certainly going to try.”
 
Helpusadopt.org’s 8th round of grants, expected to total $60,000, will be awarded in December 2011.  The grant application is available at www.helpusadopt.org and the deadline for submission is October 14, 2011.
 
 

About Helpusadopt.org

Founded in 2007 by Becky and Kipp Fawcett after their own infertility struggle and adoption process, Helpusadopt.org is a national, non-profit 501 (c)3 financial grant program that helps couples/individuals (regardless of race, religion, gender, marital status or sexual orientation) with their adoption expenses  by awarding financial grants from $500 - $15,000. Helpusadopt.org will pay the grant recipients’ service providers directly and will cover domestic, international, foster child and special needs adoptions.  For more information or to donate to Helpusadopt.org, please visit www.HELPUSADOPT.ORG or contact Becky Fawcett, Executive Director, at 917.684.5484 or becky.fawcett@helpusadopt.org.      

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