FMF gets an offer to apply for an adoption grant

Dusky

Though we are rarely posting--the action has shifted to social media--where immediate responses can be made--I'm here because of a particularly poignant comment came in and the blog has been "updated" to the point where I haven't figured out how to comment myself as the blog owner. 

However, in checking the email, this came in and...it while it appears that the impulse is good, it is another striking example of how Adoption is seen as such a Good Thing that loan companies are using a thousand dollar grant (a drop in the bucket if you are adopting) as a good-will measure to advertise their brand. 

Reminds me of a jewelry ad (was it Kaye Jewelers?) who had an offensive ad about handing over a baby a few years ago--sending the message that all adoption is good because let's look at the happy adoptive couple getting the baby! From the Adoption Stork! Without an authentic birth certificate! Get the natural mother off the set! We got her to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement and gave her no choice to change any provisions! Etc.  Despite all the voices and writings from both adoptees and natural mothers in the last decade, obviously there is more work to be done. Having been at this since the mid-Seventies--I know, before a lot of you were born--the media has often disregarded what we say and stifled publicity at times because of its bent to Adoption as a Good Thing. 

And Justice Samuel Alito, the Christian Right, conservatives in general, and liberals too have csucked up that thought like mother's milk. Yet we shoulder on.

I took out the responding email but the link below will get there. If you are responding to them, please leave your missive here as a comment. I do urge you to respond. As for the comment that brought me her, I will get to it in a day or two.--lorraine

Hello,

I hope this email finds you well. 

My name is Emily, and I am reaching out on behalf of Associates Home Loan. Associates Home Loan has started a brand new adoption grant, and we wanted to get the word out to those who are needing financial assistance in the adoption process. We have spent the past few years focused on scholarships for college students, but the adoption process is near and dear to our hearts. We wanted to explore how our grant could be a source of support to supplement the cost of giving a child a loving, permanent family.
 

• This is a $1,000 adoption grant. The family or individual wanting to adopt applies through a form field on our website and uploads their Homestudy.
• We will select a recipient twice a year. The next two deadlines are December 30th, 2020 and June 15th, 2021.
• The selected individual/family to receive the grant will be contacted and will have two weeks to confirm their adoption agency and adoption process status.
• A check will be mailed directly to the recipient’s agency to be used towards adoption expenses. Money is only payable in USD to a US adoption agency.
• We accept applications from anyone adopting, regardless of age, race, ethnicity, religion, marital status, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.