Adoption Network Cleveland

10/13/2026

🌟Join us for Adoption Network Cleveland's Annual Meeting🌟

On behalf of Adoption Network Cleveland's Board of Directors and Executive Director Betsie Norris, we invite all members, donors, partners, advocates, public officials, and the public to attend this celebration of our accomplishments of the last year. The evening will include the presentation of awards - our Volunteer of the Year and Advocate of the Year - followed by a keynote address, "The Family Story We Tell: Kinship, Secrecy, and the Lifelong Work of Belonging," from Brittan Berry.

DETAILS:
🗓️When: Thursday, November 19, 6:30pm-8:30pm
📍Where: The ANC offices, located at 2592 West 14th Street in Cleveland's Tremont neighborhood
📬RSVP: https://ow.ly/nMtq50ZUX1s

We ask that all attendees RSVP for this IN-PERSON event by Monday, November 16th.

If you have any questions or need assistance with RSVP'ing, connect with Sarah at [email protected].

10/12/2026

Join Us TOMORROW!

Please join the Transnational Adoptee Support Group on October 13, 2026, for a panel discussion featuring adoptees from Kazakhstan, Panama, Peru, Japan, and Russia. The panel will be addressing a special discussion topic: Multicultural Identity Exploration and Development.

This meeting is open to all and is a unique opportunity to hear about the transnational adoptee experience.

Tuesday, October 13
8 - 10 pm ET
Virtual meeting

Registration is required: https://ow.ly/tYrv50ZPHBa

10/12/2026

10/12/2026

All adoptive, foster, and kinship families with kids under 18 are invited to come on down to the farm and enjoy the day exploring corn mazes, hayrides, farm animals, and making memories with over 50 fun activities for all ages. Our group will have a bonfire with hot dogs and s'mores from 3- 7 pm!

Registration is required, and space is limited!
https://ow.ly/YPUA50ZJBbK

10/11/2026

💙 You are welcome here. If you are parenting a child you adopted outside of your own race, this space was created with you in mind.

Coming up on Tuesday, October 20 at 7:00 pm ET, join us for our Transracial Adoptive Parent Support Group.

Our monthly transracial adoption support group offers a structured, supportive environment where parents can connect with leaders who bring lived expertise and with others who understand the journey. Together, we share experiences, explore challenges, celebrate successes, and gain practical tools for raising transracially adopted children with confidence and care.

🕛 Meets monthly | 7:00 PM ET - Next meeting is October 20
🤝 Honest conversation. Real connection. Meaningful growth.

Registration required on our calendar: https://ow.ly/q5zv50ZPIYU

10/11/2026

✨ Join us Next WEEK✨
Wednesday, October 21 | ⏰ 7:00 PM ET

Looking for a space to be heard, understood, and supported? Join our General Discussion Support Meeting on October 21, facilitated by our experienced and compassionate facilitators, Kim and Denice.

This open, welcoming discussion is for anyone connected to adoption or foster care—adult adoptees, birth parents, siblings, adoptive parents, those with foster or kinship care experience, and individuals navigating DNA discoveries.

🤝 Come as you are. Share, listen, learn, and connect.

👉 Register via our calendar — https://ow.ly/U9Qm50ZPJeO

10/11/2026

🟣Navigating Reunion with G.R.A.C.E.: Building Healthy Long-Term Relationships in the Adoption Constellation with Elizabeth Barbour🟣

Please join us on the evening of Monday, November 9th for Elizabeth Barbour's (VIRTUAL) presentation as part of our Monday Evening Speaker Series! 8pm-9pm ET, you are welcome to be part of the call from wherever you are in the world -- we'd love to have you!

ABOUT THIS PRESENTATION:
Reunion isn't a single moment. It's a relationship that keeps unfolding over months, years, and sometimes a lifetime. Whether you're an adoptee, a birth parent, an adoptive parent, or someone who loves a person in reunion, you've probably felt both the hope and the complexity that come with reconnecting. In this session, we'll explore the G.R.A.C.E. Method, a five-part framework (developed by Elizabeth while researching her next book) for navigating relationships post-reunion. Together we'll talk about how to communicate honestly, set boundaries that protect connection rather than end it, and lead with compassion for others and for ourselves, especially when things get messy.

All members of the adoption constellation are welcome, whether you're just thinking about searching, newly reunited, in a stalled reunion or many years into the journey.

📍Sign up for FREE here: https://ow.ly/1GUu50ZUVJj

📽️DID YOU KNOW that all of our Monday Evening Speakers are available for encore viewing on our YouTube channel? Check 'em out here: https://ow.ly/16sx50ZUVJi

10/10/2026

ICYMI: we invite you to check out Tiana Hawver's Monday Evening Speaker Series presentation "Reconnecting the Dots to Family and Self" on our YouTube Channel.

Watch it here ➡️https://ow.ly/wWw650ZUTJp

ABOUT THIS PRESENTATION:
At four months old, Tiana was adopted by a white couple. It was 1971, and the couple wanted a child that would have been considered hard to place. At that time, that meant a healthy, Black infant. While reunification with birth family wasn’t something that Tiana had considered, in 2018 she received a phone call from a confidential intermediary telling her that her birth mother had petitioned the court to find her. That phone call started a journey towards reconnecting with family—birth parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and more. It also brought to the forefront the trauma and abandonment of being separated from family that are part of the experience for adoptees. Tiana shares her story of reconnecting not only to family, but also discovering who she truly is at her core.

📽️ You are welcome to check out all of our past Monday Evening Speakers on our YouTube Channel: https://ow.ly/uaqw50ZUTJo

10/10/2026

CHEERS to our friends at Southern Tier Brewing Company for crafting a LIMITED EDITION b**r in honor of our Over The Edge urban rappelling event. Southern Tier will donate $1 per Over The Edge b**r sold to Adoption Network Cleveland. Ask for it by name! Supply is limited -- give it a try before it's gone! 💙🍻

Southern Tier Brewery is located in Downtown Cleveland at 811 Prospect Ave E, Cleveland, OH 44115. For hours and additional information, visit https://ow.ly/AMQN50ZSjVu

10/10/2026

🔦We are shining a spotlight on an upcoming production of DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE: THE FIGHT FOR TEXAS ADOPTEE RIGHTS, THEN AND NOW hosted by our friends at the National Association of Adoptees and Parents 🔦

ABOUT THIS EVENT:
As Texas heads into its 90th legislative session, the fight for adoptees' right to their own records is back on. Adoption advocates and the general public are coming together just blocks from the state capitol, at the Bullock Texas State History Museum, to examine the history of Texas adoptee rights, look toward the future, and celebrate the November launch of WONDERLAND: Memoir of a Black-Market Adoption by Patricia Knight Meyer (Nov. 3, Unsolicited Press).

Hosted by the National Association of Adoptees and Parents, we invite you to join us Friday night, November 6, in person or by livestream from Austin, Texas. The night will begin with a stage adaptation of a chapter from WONDERLAND, followed by a panel discussion led by Emily Ramshaw on the state of adoptee rights, concluding with a ticketed reception and book signing.

The event opens as the lights come up on a Texas kitchen, where a scene from WONDERLAND unfolds on stage. Emily Ramshaw, co-founder and CEO of The 19th and former co-chair of the Pulitzer Prize Board moderates. Panelists include Marci Purcell of Adoption Knowledge Affiliates, Renee Gelin of Saving Our Sisters, Joellen Peters of Support Texas Adoptee Rights, and Patricia Knight Meyer, of the National Association of Adoptees and Parents.

WHEN: Friday, November 6, 2026, 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET
WHERE: AUSTIN, TEXAS (IN PERSON) and LIVESTREAM

This is a not-for-profit event benefiting the National Association of Adoptees and Parents, Saving Our Sisters, and Adoption Knowledge Affiliates. Attend in person or watch for free from anywhere.

💜Adoption Network Cleveland is proud to be an in-kind supporter of this production💜

Register for free on Eventbrite 👉 https://ow.ly/sIC350ZOKJP