World Adoption Day

What Nelson Mandela and Eleanor Roosevelt, Bill Clinton and John Lennon, Marilyn Monroe and Ingrid Bergman, Richard Burton and Truman Capote, Steve Jobs and Priscilla Presley had in common was that they all grew up in foster care. At different ages, future celebrities were adopted by strangers. Their nobility and generosity of soul deserve universal gratitude and admiration. The adopted children were raised by director Steven Spielberg, actresses Sharon Stone, Sandra Bullock, Meg Ryan, Charlize Theron and Cate Blanchett. In Russia, the practice of adoption of orphans by public people is also widespread. The adoptive parents are actor Alexey Serebryakov, lawyer Mikhail Borshchevsky, actresses Natalya Belokhvostikova and Irina Alferova, singers Tatyana Ovsienko and Margarita Sukhankina. In honor of the opportunity to give a family to orphans and children abandoned by their parents, a holiday was established. World Adoption Day is celebrated annually on November 9th. World Adoption Day, founded by the head of the AdoptTogether crowdfunding platform, Pastor Hank Fortener, was first held in 2014. The purpose of the holiday events is to provide moral and material support to adoptive parents. In the USA, the cost of adopting children can reach 40 thousand dollars. The AdoptTogether service raises funds to help parents who are ready to give love and shelter to adopted children. In the 4 years since the platform was founded in 2012, more than $8.6 million has been collected. Hank Fortener and his team have helped thousands of couples who have opened their hearts and homes to children who are not their blood relatives. The purpose of the holiday is to reduce the number of orphans and children who live in boarding schools. Some traditional cultures, such as those of Islam, do not have orphanages. In a number of countries, the law prohibits parents from leaving their offspring without shelter, upbringing or education. There are no boarding schools or nursing homes in Chechnya, where believers do not have the right to deprive care and attention of the most socially vulnerable people - the elderly and children. In Israel, where Judaism is preached, every child, even a stranger, is treated with great reverence and love. Therefore, there are no orphanages and the concept of “street child” in the country. All these examples indicate that the goal set by Hank Fortener's team is achievable. In honor of World Adoption Day, millions of people are posting on social media with the hashtags #WorldAdoptionDay, #FamilyIsEverythin, #AdoptTogether and #AFamilyForEveryChild, sharing happy stories and experiences with other adoptive parents. The founder of the holiday, Hank Fortener, was raised with a biological brother and sister in the family of a housewife and an IT specialist who became the father and mother of 36 adopted children. The experience of parents and the desire to help other selfless and noble people prompted the pastor to create a website and movement in support of adoptive parents. In honor of the holiday, donations are collected, which are sent to the AdoptTogether fund and other charitable organizations that transfer funds to couples who want to give tenderness, love and care to orphans.