We just got our new pass along cards in the mail and we are totally in love with them! Thanks to some amazing local businesses and our awesome friends, we've passed out over 2500 cards in only 6 months! Woot, woot! We enlisted the help of a super talented graphic designer (shout out to Charlotte!) to create a new look for our cards and they turned out fabulous!
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For those of our blog readers that aren't familiar with adoption pass along cards, we'll explain what they're all about. Networking during our adoption process is MAJOR! We've met several adorable couples that have been waiting to be chosen by a birthmother for several years. Our caseworker has encouraged us to spread the word (or send out a herald in our case) so that others may know of our desire to adopt.
The idea behind these cards is to get as many out there circulating as possible in hopes that they'll one day land in hands of someone, who knows someone, who knows someone (etc), who is thinking of placing their child for adoption. Because birthparents get to choose the adoptive couple, the waiting period can be really daunting. One of the first questions that we asked our caseworker was what the average waiting time was. She explained that there is not an accurate way of calculating that number for us. Every birthparent is different, just as every adoptive couple is different. What one birthparent may be looking for, another may want something completely opposite. Some couples are chosen within a few months, some after a few years. Some have waited over 5 years and others are not ever chosen. As an adoptive couple, the idea of waiting another 6 months is kinda depressing... I can't even imagine what it will be like if we still haven't been chosen in a few years!
In the spirit of being proactive with our desire to adopt, we've been trying every outlet that we can think of to help spread the word. Pass along cards are one of these tools! We've heard stories from other adoptive couples that their child's birthmother found them through a family friend, or their home teacher's cousin, or a former neighbor, etc. The point is that you just never know when you pass out one of these cards... it may just land in a garbage can somewhere, or maybe (fingers crossed) it will one day land in the right hands!
Some of the ways that we spread these cards around: Whenever we eat out, we leave a card with our restaurant bill. When paying bills, we toss one in the envelope. When we see a fishbowl at a business that says "drop your card in to win a free lunch"... guess what? We drop one in! We've tacked them up on community boards and handed them out whenever somebody asks us about adoption. Our favorite method of all - some awesome local businesses have put stacks of our cards out on their counters for customers to take.
James and I both feel strongly that the more involved we are in our own adoption process, the better our experience will be. We've been actively involved in the adoption community here in Utah and have met a bunch of incredible birthparents. With each new personal story that we hear, we learn so much about ourselves and about the kind of relationship that we want to have with our child's birthparents. Adoption really is an amazing thing and we're so excited to be able to bring our sweet pea home one day!
So... we just got a fresh batch of pass along cards delivered and if anyone out there wants to help us get them out there, we'll gladly give ya a bundle!
