Grants Help Children Make Permanent Connections

VICTORIA, Nov. 29 /CNW/ - Seven grants totaling almost $127,000 have been awarded from the Lex Reynolds Adoption & Permanency Trust Fund announced Fund Committee co-chairs Geord Holland and Sandra Scarth today.

"Many children and youth in care in BC need life-long, stable environments in which to grow and develop," said Scarth. "These grants help to address that by funding projects that promote adoption and permanency, and support adoptive families."

Established with funds provided by the BC Ministry of Children and Family Development in 2003, the Lex Reynolds Adoption & Permanency Trust Fund supports groups that help children and youth find and maintain lifelong connections through adoption or alternative avenues of permanence. Named in honour of Lex Reynolds, an advocate for children and adoptive families who passed away in 2009, over $636,000 has been awarded from this fund since inception.

"Every child needs - and deserves - a stable loving family to call their own", said Mary Polak, Minister of Children and Family Development. "Through its adoption and permanency trust fund, the Victoria Foundation supports community-based projects that raise awareness of the need for a broad range of adoptive families to meet the unique cultural and social needs of B.C.'s waiting kids."

Grants are awarded from the interest earned on $3 million in permanent funds managed by the Victoria Foundation, a community foundation that manages funds gifted to them in perpetuity and then distributes the earnings from them for charitable purposes. The Adoption Council of Canada is the Fund secretariat, responsible for appointing the Fund's advisory committee.

November is Adoption Awareness Month. For information on adoption and the Lex Reynolds Adoption and Permanency Trust Fund, including application information, and how to donate to it, visit www.connectingforlife.ca.

Lex Reynolds Adoptions and Permanency Trust Fund

Fall 2010 Grants

Organization	Purpose	Amount
Addiction Recovery Coach Program	To test a volunteer training program which supports birth-mothers who lead complex lives due to poverty, mental health, addiction and/or other health and social issues and have children in the foster care system.	$19,668
Adoptive Families Association of BC	To provide ongoing funding for the Association's youth group which gives voice to 25 youth who are or were in BC foster care by equipping them with hands-on leadership and life skills. They meet once per month to develop communications materials on permanency options and to plan and develop presentation opportunities such as conferences.	$20,000
CHOICES Adoption & Counselling	The Today's Child Project will raise public awareness regarding the need for adoptive families in British Columbia by advertising non-identifying profiles of children who are eligible for adoption through local newspapers, television, and other media outlets.	$20,000
Gitxsan Child and Family Services Society	To develop and present Gitzsan Culture Kits - including a Life Book, Clan T-shirt, Backpack and Language CD - to the over 100 Gitxsan children currently in government care in BC so as to ensure connection with their culture.	$12,100
Haida Child and Family Services	Funding to permit an investigation into traditional Haida adoption practices and encourage adoptions in the Haida Community.  A digital Haida genealogy record along with Haida "Family Trees" will be created and, "Roots" booklets will be presented to the over 50 Haida children currently in foster care and adopted by non-Haidas in BC.	$20,000
Ki-Low-Na Friendship Society	This project focuses on expanding permanency options for urban Aboriginal children and youth who experience barriers to maintaining familial connections.  The Project assists by providing opportunities for family reconnections and strengthens a child's cultural identity through reunions and cultural gatherings and celebrations.	$15,138
Northwest Inter-Nation Family & Community Services	Funding for information sessions on permanency planning for First Nations children. The agency will provide an overview of the various options that are available to families such as: kin agreements; adoption and custody agreements.	$20,000

                  

For further information:

Media contact:

Sharlene Smith Victoria Foundation Phone: [phone]