(L to R): Jeffrey Dwyer, Esq., ChildNet board chairman; Monica King, ChildNet Broward County executive director; Nora Rupert, adoptive parent and Broward County School board member – District 7; and Emilio Benitez, ChildNet president and CEO.
(Top L to R): Sharon Loyd; grandfather Ron Mcfarlane (Bottom L to R): Dylan, 4; and Brandon, 2 FORT LAUDERDALE, FL – Fort Lauderdale resident Sharon Loyd became the adoptive parent to siblings Dylan, 4, and Brandon, 2, on National Adoption Day where ChildNet, the community-based care lead agency in Broward and Palm Beach counties, judges, families, city officials and volunteers recently gathered to celebrate the successful adoptions of 20 children into 15 families.
“Every year, National Adoption Day makes the dreams of our most vulnerable children come true as adoptions are finalized and we get to celebrate with these forever families,” said Emilio Benitez, president and CEO of ChildNet. “This is a special day for the families but more importantly for the kids who will now have a stable, loving, permanent home.”
The Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, city officials and child advocates participated in the ceremony during which speeches were delivered and community leaders were recognized. The official adoptions followed where families gathered in courtrooms and shared their amazing success stories.
Keynote speaker Nora Rupert, Broward County School Board Member and mother to three adoptive children, shared her experience of adopting her son on National Adoption Day. “As soon as I met him, the bond was instantaneous,” she said. “Like all the adoptive parents here today, I know the remarkable feeling of giving a child from foster care the gift of family. We are so lucky to have the love from these children, and there is nothing more important than children, family and love.”
While 20 children and their families enjoyed the day’s festivities, officials say that there is a great need for adoptive parents, particularly for teens, sibling groups and children with special needs.
Partnering organizations included ChildNet, Children’s Services Council, Florida Department of Children & Families, the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, Heart Gallery of Broward County, Rhythm City Productions, Publix, law offices of Brinkley Morgan and Forever Family.
As the single private non-profit entity responsible for administration of the local child welfare systems in Broward and Palm Beach counties, ChildNet continues to bring years of dedication to protecting abused, abandoned and neglected children in the communities it serves.
For more information about becoming a foster or adoptive parent, call ChildNet in Broward County at 954-414-6000. Visit www.ChildNet.us and www.facebook.com/ChildNet.
