ST. GEORGE —An event celebrating the families touched by adoption will be held at Staheli Farms in Washington City on Monday afternoon and will provide an opportunity to see the impact adoption can have on more than 2,700 children living in foster care throughout the state.
The celebration, staged during National Adoption Month, starts at 4 p.m. at Staheli Family Farm, 3400 S. Washington Fields Road, Washington City.
Festivities include children’s activities, door prizes, food, vendors and more, along with the opportunity to meet and mingle with those whose lives have been touched by adoption. Food will be provided free of charge by the Seint Foundations.
Information will be available for those considering adopting either privately or through foster care, as well as post-adoption support that is available through community agencies and organizations.
“It’s an opportunity to connect with families, birth parents, adoptees and people considering adoption and to bring awareness to our wonderful community,” said Ben Ashcraft, southwest region representative for Utah Foster Care.
The celebration is being sponsored by Utah Foster Care, Premier Adoption Agency and the Seint Foundations.
Poster announces adoption celebration event being held at Staheli Family Farm in Washington City, Utah on Nov. 13, 2023 | Image courtesy of Utah Foster Care, St. George News
Couch Conversations — a raving success
Last month, more than 150 people attended a “Couch Conversations” event at the Dixie Convention Center and hosted by three organizations including Utah Foster Care, the Seint Foundations and the 1999 Collective, a nonprofit organization that involves a community of foster care alumni and allies.
The Seint Foundations covered the cost for the convention center and the refreshments, as well as expenses associated with the out-of-state panelists who shared their stories, challenges and triumphs, Ashcraft said.
“It was an amazing night – to see all these community organizations come together for our youth and provide a platform for their voices to be heard,” Ashcraft said. “Their messages were powerful.”
For Nate Marsh, executive director of Seint Foundations, the goal for the evening was to celebrate Foster Youth Voice Month by providing a platform that allowed the voice of those with real-life foster experience to be heard in the community, he stated in a release.
“Their message is powerful, it’s beautiful, it’s moving and tonight it was heard,” Marsh added.
The power of 3
Utah Foster Care is a private, nonprofit organization that finds and trains families to provide secure, loving homes for children in foster care throughout the state. It works with other organizations to form a powerful front in the ongoing effort to find permanent homes for foster children who cannot be reunited with their original families.
Seint Foundations highlighst the beauty of the foster care community by promoting awareness about foster care and positively impacting former foster youth. The group also supports two of its own non-profit programs — Love is Never Wasted and Angels Landing Foundation.
1999 Collective is a Utah-based community, driven by lived expertise and works to ensure that those with experience in foster care have every opportunity and capability to thrive.
Event Details
What: Utah Foster Care’s Adoption Celebration
When: Monday, Nov. 13, at 4 p.m.
Where: Staheli Family Farm, 3400 S. Washington Fields Road in Washington City.
Cost: Free
Details: There will be food, door prizes and several fun activities for the kids. Go to Utah Foster Care for more information.
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