The first of three Iowa events designed to boost adoptions was held in Webster City over the weekend. Bambi Schrader of Iowa Kidsnet is coordinator of "Adoption Saturday," held at the Hamilton County Courthouse.
Schrader says 12 families welcomed 17 children to their households. Schrader says next year’s event will be held in Story County. Schrader says the event needs to be more locally centered in the 12-county service area, so it will likely be held in the Ames courthouse, to best serve families from Grinnell to Fort Dodge.
Webster City has hosted Adoption Saturday events for four years. Schrader says more events are coming next Saturday, November 15th. Next weekend, there will be Adoption Saturday events held in Des Moines and Council Bluffs.
There’s also an Adoption Friday event later this week in Cedar Rapids. One of the participants in this past weekend’s adoption event was Justin Jones of Webster City. He and his wife welcomed a 16-month-old girl named Melissa.
"We just think it’s a precious gift," Jones says. "This is the second adoption we’ve had in our family. She’s truly been a blessing to us and hopefully we can be a blessing to her." To learn more, visit the Iowa Kidsnet website or call (800) 243-0756.