Prospective adoptive parents had a unique opportunity to get to know 11 waiting children at Showcase of the Stars, a Hillside Adoption Services/Children Awaiting Parents collaborative matching event in March. The 11 youth were featured in a series of videos aired at The Little Theatre, followed by a reception for the young people and more than 60 attendees.

The evening was one of two matching events Hillside Adoption Services holds each year as part of its Wendy’s Wonderful Kids grant from the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. According to Hillside Wendy’s Wonderful Kids Recruiter Lisa Nolan, the videos were a tremendous addition. “It can be difficult for kids to interact with prospective parents at events like this,” she explains. “The videos showcased the kids and allowed them to tell their story in a less intimidating way.”

The videos were produced by Cecil Felton, a former employee in Hillside’s Therapeutic Foster Care program, who is now the Media Center coordinator at St. John Fisher College. Cecil applied for and received a community engagement grant from LeChase Construction Services to fund the production. “I wanted to make the event more personal,” he says, “to get at each child’s personality. I wanted to break the ice and help prospective parents get to know the kids a bit.”  When asked why he is still committed to helping waiting kids after moving on in his career, he replies without hesitation, “I’ve never really moved on. I always think about the kids I used to work with. The work I was doing was really important. I really wanted to do something to help.”

Lisa believes the videos were a big factor in the event’s success. “There were two matches that night,” she says. “We are so grateful to Cecil for his video work and to The Little Theatre for donating the space for the event.” She wants to do more events like this one in the future and she hopes to expand participation beyond families looking to adopt. “We need adults who’d like to become resources for these kids. Even if someone isn’t planning to adopt, they can become a mentor to a waiting child. These matching events are an opportunity to begin an ongoing relationship with a young person, whether or not it leads to adoption.”