Making a Commitment to Difficult to Place Orphans

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Nov. 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- As the leading global family preservation and child welfare agency, Bethany Christian Services is committed to finding a loving home for every child around the world who is in need of a family. Through its devotion to vulnerable children, Bethany is introducing the "These 400" campaign to advocate for and place these 400 children who have been waiting – in many cases for years. These children have significant special needs, are older, or are in sibling groups, and are in need of families who will provide the nurturing, patient, and caring environment they so desperately require.  

"Of the millions of orphans across the globe waiting to know the love of a forever family, many are overlooked because of their special needs, whether it's severe medical or emotional disabilities, the fact that the child is older, or is one of a group of siblings," said Bill Blacquiere, president and CEO of Bethany. "Each day these children spend in an orphanage is another tragic day that would have been better spent in a permanent home. We will continue to work tirelessly until we have placed at least 400 of these children in loving homes."

To reach its objective, Bethany and its network of more than 100 branch offices in 36 states across the United States will work in unison to recruit families for specific children in need. Recruitment efforts will include a national advertising and marketing campaign drawing attention to the global need for adoptive families.

"These children are truly suffering and without our help will not be in families, as they have no other options available to them," Blacquiere continued. "While they have substantial needs that make them hard to place, placement is not impossible. Having witnessed tremendous depths of love from couples before, including a Virginia couple who adopted a child born without a brain so that he would know the love of a family before he died, I know with great certainty that there are hearts and homes for children with special needs, no matter the severity."

For more information on Bethany Christian Services and how you can participate in "These 400," including how you can make a donation, please visit www.bethany.org/these400. 

SOURCE Bethany Christian Services