FALL 2015 DePelchin Children’s Center Thinking About Adoption? Ask a DePelchin Family! At this year’s Back to School Field Day event, we sat down with a few of our families to learn more about their experiences with adoption. Meet Scott and Jennifer Lester Donnie and Barbara Holiday Carolyn and Larry Hughes Tell us about the children in your family? Tell us about the children in your family? Tell us about the children in your family? Mya is 13, and we adopted her when she was We have adopted siblings—Jermaine who is We have adopted five children—Raquan who is 1½ years old. DeRenee is 10, and we adopted 6 years old and Mikeen who is 4 years old. 18 years old, Kiarra who is 17 years old, Sabin her when she was 3. Owen is our biological who is 16 years old, Alexis who is 14 years old What was your family like before kids, son, and he is 5 years old. and Shakasih who is 10 years old. and how have these two boys changed your How has adoption changed your family? lives now? What would you say about how adoption has impacted your lives? Before we had these kids, our lives felt very Before it was quiet and still but now full of love We have been foster parents for 25 years, and empty. Now we can say our lives are anything and chaos! We are busy constantly—especially deciding to adopt these children is the best but empty. Our family is full of life and energy— with baseball activities. there is truly never a dull moment! We have had decision we have ever made. It has been very What would you tell other families fulfilling—we all feel needed and loved together. great opportunities along with our challenges, beginning the process of adopting? and we are overwhelmed and amazed to see Kids have an amazing way of getting you You definitely need to take your time and be how each of our children has grown. We are through the tough parts in life, and they have realistic that it is a process of matching kids blessed and grateful to be able to raise these taken care of us as much as we have taken with families. Sometimes it is not easy, but in children. care of them. the end, the waiting is so worth it. These are What would you tell other families What would you tell other families our kids, and we know that with every ounce about adopting? about adopting? of our heart. Do it! Everyone emphasizes what parents bring If you really want to help children then you to adopted children, but our kids have brought should adopt. We have seen sides of life we so much more to us. never would have experienced. Our children Opening your all came into foster care for various reasons, and they need to see us as parents in a loving home will enrich family. It is our job to reinforce for them that we are not going to break as a family, but instead and enhance we are together forever. your life. “ ” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 inside 2 From the President 6 Meet Sunny the Bear 3 Student with a Passion for Art 6 DePelchin Holiday Project and a Lot of Heart 7 Saturday Night Lights 3 125th Anniversary Spotlight 7 Gallery Furniture Teams Up with DePelchin 4 Back to School with DePelchin 7 Back the Bowl, Back DePelchin 2 | today From the President always look forward to the holiday season at DePelchin Children’s Center! It’s a time when I see the community rally around our kids and the support of our mission in so many ways. I also see lots of big smiles on little faces, I thanks in part to generous donors and volunteers such as you. The months of October, November and December offer many opportunities for you to get involved and help us turn lives around. The annual Holiday Project is one way you can make a difference in a child’s life by sponsoring his or her holiday wish list. This is a great activity to do with your own child or your co-workers, signing up online at http://holidayproject.depelchin.org and dropping off gifts in early December. November 22 marks our annual fall event, Saturday Night Lights, which will take place at the Houston Methodist Training Center. You can still buy a ticket at www.depelchin.org/saturday to be part of the football-themed fun! Make sure you also get your ticket to this year’s AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl, featuring a Big 12 and SEC match- up, of which proceeds will benefit DePelchin kids and families directly. November is also National Adoption Month, a time when we celebrate families who have adopted in the past and those who have finalized their forever families this year. You can read about some of these wonderful families in our cover story, and how adoption has made their families complete. From our roots as an orphanage in 1892, we believe Kezia DePelchin would be proud to see how many children have found loving homes and how many lives we have been turned around because of DePelchin. We are approaching our 125th Anniversary in 2017, and we will begin featuring stories from our rich history, like the spotlight on Connie Wallace in this issue, which reflect Kezia’s legacy. It was true in 1892 and is still true today—we would not be able to do our important work without the support of this wonderful community. On behalf of our children, our families and the DePelchin staff, I thank you. Sincerely, Jenifer Jarriel President and CEO THINKING ABOUT ADOPTION? ASK A DEPELCHIN FAMILY!, CONTINUED Ray and Sally Griffiths Tell us about the children in your family? We adopted two girls who are actually siblings. We adopted Leanne who is now 10 years old when she was 11 months old and Summer who is now 9 years old when she was 5 days old. After we went through the process of adopting Leanne, we got a call the next day that her biological mom was pregnant with a second child, and they wanted to know if we would like her sister Summer too. What was your family like before kids and what is it like now? Our girls have enriched our lives. We still do a lot of the same activities, but everything we do now is more child- focused. We really feel like we are giving back to others now instead of just living for ourselves. What would you tell other families about adopting? It is the best way to change someone else’s life. Marvin Carter Tell me about the children in your family. I have adopted Zoe who is 13 and Madison who is 10. What made you want to adopt as a single dad? I have always wanted to adopt and have a lot of kids. At the beginning, I was a foster parent but knew in my heart I wanted to adopt. I have a lot of family support, and DePelchin has helped make arrangements and provides assistance when needed. What would you tell other families about adopting? Opening your home will enrich and enhance your life. If you want kids, I would say go for it! DEPELCHIN CHILDREN’S CENTER BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOUNDATION AND DEPELCHIN PSYCHIATRIC TRUST FOR DEPELCHIN SERVICES BOARD Officers of the Board Nancy I. Cook, Ph.D. Ginni Mithoff CHILDREN’S CENTER BOARD Charles D. Powell, Chairman Sue Nan Cutsinger John S. Moody, Jr. Albert C. Hergenroeder, M.D., Chairman John C. Bass, Chairman-elect Susan Distefano Stewart Pisecco, Ph.D. Bob Paddock, Chairman Efrain Bleiberg, M.D. Pamela Lovett, Past Chairman Stephen Dyer Carolyn Pope Charles Szalkowski, Vice Chair Matthew Brams, M.D. Anne Duncan, Secretary Henry S. Florsheim Mary Eliza Shaper Karey Dye James S. Ezelle, Jr., M.D. Russell Hawkins Sanjay J. Mathew, M.D. Kay Forbes Lisa Stone Terry Gebert Tim Surratt Flo McGee Lindy Upton McGee, M.D. Board Members Rahul Mehta Laura Bellows Gerald Gehm H. Richard Walton M. James Henderson W. Temple Webber III John E. Stokes Efrain Bleiberg, M.D. Harper B. Trammell Sean G. Boutros, M.D. Debbi M. Johnstone Janeana White-Lewis, M.D. Pam Brasseux Robbie Lowrey Don M. Woo Steve Cherek Connelly McGreevy Geraldina Interiano Wise Hannah McNair fall 2015 | 3 Student with a Passion for Art and a Lot of Heart Han Wen Zhang, a senior at Clements High School, has a passion for art and a passion for kids. She recently completed a mural at DePelchin’s Richmond Residential Treatment Center, which provides 24-hour care and temporary residence for children ages 5-12, many of whom are suffering from trauma. What is the inspiration behind the mural? I wanted to do something inspired by Chinese shadow puppets — but taking that a step further and making it more colorful for kids. The shapes represent kids playing and jumping. My hope is that they will see this in the gym, and it will inspire them to bring the mural to life through their activity. What did you learn about DePelchin spending your days painting at the Residential Treatment Center? I have never been in an environment like a residential treatment center, and the biggest take away for me was how compassionate the staff is to the kids — they are truly like parents Han Wen Zhang and Eva Armstrong, Residential Treatment Coordinator at Richmond Residential Treatment Center to them.