Chamber Member Wins Congressional Award!

Tuesday, 23 January 2007

Colleen Ellingson, executive director of Adoption Resources of Wisconsin (a WA / WM Chamber member since 2000), received an Angels in Adoption award from the Congressional Coalition on Adoption on September 21 in Washington D.C. Coalition member and Wisconsin congressman James Sensenbrenner nominated Ellingson for this award. The Congressional Coalition on Adoption (CCA) was created in 1985 as a bicameral, bipartisan caucus of members of Congress dedicated to improving adoption policy and practice, and to focusing public attention on the advantages of adoption.  Prominent adoption attorney and former Angels in Adoption winner Steve Hayes of the Schroeder Group initiated the nomination of Ellingson. Hayes said, "Colleen has been a pioneer in the field of special needs adoption in Wisconsin for better than two decades, starting by herself in her basement officeand now serving the needs of thousands of children and families every year.  She is one of the most respected and leading contributors to family building in Wisconsin and is most deserving of the Angel in Adoption award. Ellingson has worked in the field of foster care and adoption for more than twenty-five years and has been a tireless advocate for children in need of permanent, loving homes. Adoption Resources facilitates adoption and foster care throughout Wisconsin, connecting families with the resources they need, recruiting adoptive homes for children in the foster care system and providing training and support post-placement to families and the professionals who serve them. It can cost you nothing to help some of these children. Did you know that of the more than 500,000 children in the U.S. foster care system, 118,000 of them are available for adoption? Every year, more children become available for adoption than are adopted. For example, in 2002, 67,000 children had parental rights terminated yet only 53,000 children were adopted. It may not seem like it, but there is a very simple way that you can help find a home for each and every child in need: Companies for Kids. Adoption Resources of Wisconsin is always searching for new venues in which to introduce prospective foster or adoptive families to the children who wait. The Companies for Kids program is just one of these efforts. Companies for Kids sends posters of waiting children to over 120 companies and businesses across Wisconsin. Every month, we send a small poster featuring the photo and brief description of a child or children waiting for a permanent home and family. Participating companies then hang this poster in an area where employees can view it. In addition, we provide information and resources about foster care, adoption and just who we are and what we do here at Adoption Resources of Wisconsin. Please note that there is no cost to participate in the Companies for Kids program. Nearly 40% of American adults - that's 81.5 million people - have considered adopting a child. If one in 500 of these adults adopted, every waiting child in foster care would have a permanent family. If you are interested in participating in the Companies for Kids program, please contact Jenna Czaplewski, Communications & Development Coordinator, at 414-475-1246 or jczaplewski @wiadopt.org.

 

< Prev		Next >