In Little Rock Arkansas War Memorial Stadium last Saturday 140 photos of children were put on display. The photos displayed showed a wide variety of children of different ages, races, backgrounds, and personalities. The kids, despite all their differences, have one thing in common: they are all waiting for a loving family to adopt them.
Reported by Steve Brawner with The Courier Online, this display of photos is The Arkansas Heart Gallery. This gallery is the coordinated effort between the Arkansas Division of Children and Family Services and Project Zero, an organization whose goal is to place every child who needs a home in a home. Their slogan is “Imagine a world where 1 + 1 = 0.” The meaning behind this incorrect mathematical equation is the concept that 1 set of searching parents, plus 1 child searching for a home, equals no child left in foster care or an orphanage. The project was created by founder Christie Erwin, who has fostered 50 children and adopted two– and who lives to make this touching mathematical equation a reality.
The Heart Gallery was on display Saturday as part of a fundraiser called “Walk for the Waiting.” It is conducted annually and raises money and awareness of the need for adoptive foster families.
As reported by The Courier, Erwin stated in an interview, “Not everybody is called to foster or adopt, but everybody’s called to care … Everybody’s called to do something.”
In 2010, there were 601 adoptions in Arkansas. Last year the numbers rose to 677, thanks in part to this group’s effort. Individuals and families alike have begun to rally behind this cause to give stable homes to those who have never had one.
Let us all stretch in our own efforts to support the cause of finding a home for every child. Let’s bring the 1’s together and make 0.
