Sponsors Popular Martial Arts Kick-a-Thon and Launches First-Annual Making Families Holiday Raffle
(WORCESTER, MA) – November 6, 2008, USAdoption Solutions, a non-profit agency placing children in foster care into permanent homes, kicks-off National Adoption Month with a charter from their Adoption Angel to connect a record number of children and families looking to adopt. Dubbed the Adoption Angel, 15-year-old Julie Sargent pledges to raise $25,000 by end of 2008 to help the more than 500,000 children in the foster care system waiting for permanent homes.
To achieve this ambitious fundraising goal, USAdoption Solutions will sponsor a Kick-A-Thon with Kwon’s Martial Arts Schools of Clinton and Marlboro. In an effort to break previous pledge records, the two schools will participate together for the first time. Over 20 students of all ages and levels will be participating. The students will solicit pledges for every kick performed with the goal of 1,000 kicks per student. If each sponsor pledged one penny, this would still be $10 per sponsor. Previous Kick-A-Thons have raised over $5,000.
USAdoption Solutions will also host its first annual ‘Making Families’ holiday raffle. The drawing will be held January 5, 2009 with first prize being a cruise for 2; second prize is a flat screen TV; and third prize is a state-of-the-art Xbox 360.
Living with 7 adopted brothers and sisters, Julie knows first-hand the joy a family can give a child waiting to be adopted. Her mother was adopted and her parents are founders of USAdoption Solutions. Having already raised over $20,000 for the cause, Julie has quickly established herself as a young pioneer and advocate of the children. Her ideas have resulted in several Kick-a-Thons and cross-country family fundraisers, including a trip to Alaska and back.
“As part of National Adoption Month, we need to tell the stories of these children and unite them with the right families. It’s our hope to continue the momentum and proclaim 2009 the year of making families,” said Julie Sargent, Adoption Angel for USAdoption Solutions. “I know the impact a loving, stable family has on a child. Families need to know that money doesn’t have to be a barrier and that we can help match them with the right child.”
The exposure and money raised enables USAdoption Solutions to continue their mission of matching children with the right families and reach its goal of placing 30 children by November of 2009. “We are different than other adoption agencies in that we work with every state to place children with the right families,” said Carle Sargent, Julie’s father and president of USAdoption Solutions. “We are like a match making service, without the hefty price tag. It’s a wonderful experience to know you are fulfilling the needs of everyone involved.”
The Kick-a-Thon will be held December 6 from 3-5 pm at Kwon’s Martial Arts School, 796 Boston Post Road, Marlborough, MA. More information on this event visit www.kwonsmartialarts.com. Tickets for the Making Families Raffle can be purchased online at www.usadoptionsolutions.com starting November 17th. They will sell for $10 each or three for $20. Proceeds from both these events will go to funding the Boston office and matching children with families throughout the state of Massachusetts. More information on both events can also be found on the USAdoption Solutions website.
About USAdoption Solutions
The mission of USAdoption Solutions is to inform, recruit, train and support American families who will adopt the Nation's waiting foster children. The agency came into existence when a couple from Massachusetts began adopting children in 1998. They have adopted 7 children to date and have 10 children in all. The realization that there were 500,000 children in the U.S. foster care system drove them to create this non-profit agency. To read the extraordinary story or obtain more information about the agency, please go to the web site at: www.usadoptionsolutions.org.