- Families for Russian & Ukrainian Adoption (FRUA) is an
international parent support network for families who have adopted or are in the process
of adopting from the former Soviet Union. These republics include Belarus, Moldova,
Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Krygyzstan, Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Tadzhikistan, as well as Russian and the Ukraine.
Despite our name, our families have adopted children from Romania, Bulgaria,
Hungary, Poland and other Eastern European countries.
The organization was started in 1993 in the Washington DC
metropolitan area. The initial group of parents met in their living rooms. Today FRUA has
grown to almost 2,000 member families and a database of 4,000. Regional chapters cross the
country, with scattered members worldwide.
For a small annual fee, members have access to information and
events that address the specific needs of our families. These services include:
- Our quarterly newsletter, Family Focus, which includes
profiles of geographic regions, medical and parenting news, book reviews, culinary ideas
and other resources.
- A hot line that may be used for:
- Keeping up to date on law changes and policies
- Finding reference families for agencies and contacts
- Learning about specific orphanages
- Providing guidance to prospective families
- Locating cultural, medical and adoptive resources
- Because of our size and place in the adoption community, FRUA is able
to:
- Sponsor conferences
- Focus attention on the children still living in orphanages
- Educate the general public about the culture, the joys our children
bring and adoption issues
- Work with the media to present well balanced stories about our
children
- We work with the National Adoption Center to help our members
introduce Employer Provided Adoption Benefits to the American workplace.
- We provide information through our booklet series:
-
A Brief Overview of Our International Adoption Research for
pre-adoptive families
-
Health and Developmental Issues Facing Our Children dealing with
medical issues
-
Member Recommended Resource Directory which covers anything and
everything
- Information is also available through our lending library:
- Books on cultural and medical issues
- Audio tapes from FRUA conferences
- Video tapes from FRUA conferences and cultural events
- We have not-for-profit IRS tax deductibility status. This allows us
to step up our relief efforts and make donations go farther.
-
FRUA is made up entirely of volunteers.
Families for Russian & Ukrainian Adoption
By the Numbers
- As of this writing, FRUA has almost 2,000 active member families and
4,000 in our database. We are growing at a rate of 47 new members each month.
- Since the former Soviet Union opened for foreign adoption, over
18,000 children have been adopted by American citizens. Last year, Americans adopted 4,491
children from Russia alone, putting the country at the top of the US State
Department’s list of issued orphan visas for the second year in a row. Another 1,000
children were adopted from neighboring countries in 1998.
- Core volunteers donate a minimum of 3,200 hours each month. Our
volunteers are primarily corporate professionals, medical professionals and educators.
- We operate with minimal overhead expense. Contributions are used to
make a direct, positive impact. 100% of funds donated to FRUA's Immediate
Response Fund are used for supplying food and medicines to orphanages
- Our website receives an average of 200 hits per day. Our hot line
receives an average of 25 phone calls per week. We process approximately 114 new requests
for information each month.
- FRUA’s PR Task Force is in contact with the media to present
balanced stories about our kids. Credits of the task force include CBS Sunday Morning,
ABC’s Nightline and NPR’s Diane Rehm Show.
- Our conferences in Washington DC (‘96), New Brunswick
(‘97), New York (‘98 & '99), Wisconsin (‘98), and Houston ('99) had
75-100 people in attendance. Topics covered were international adoption issues, medical
concerns and family life.
- Forever Families Through Adoption poster circulation is over
10,000. Chosen Child magazine featured the poster on its October/November 1999 issue.
- FRUA’s distributed over 1,900 booklets series and 1,000 reprints
to date.
- In 1999, 258 baby houses in Russia and 114 baby houses in Ukraine
received a pediatric physical therapy book and staff training materials, as arranged for
in conjunction with Russian Orphanage Association (ROS). Plans are being made for
the distribution of additional training materials.
- FRUA sponsored 175 cases of food, formula and vitamins for 98
children living in Kolomna, Russia. The items were received by the orphanage director on
Christmas Eve, 1998. The project continued through 1999 and is scheduled to continue and
expand throughout 2000.
- 30 cases of over-the-counter children’s medicines were delivered
to orphanages in Novgorod, Russia and Zaporoshye, Ukraine in 1997.
- An orphanage in Tver, Russia has repaired plumbing and heating
systems and an orphanage in Georgia has a new hot water heater thanks to FRUA’s
fundraising efforts.
- Over 175 large boxes of supplies have been hand delivered to
orphanages by traveling families through our Grow Bag Program. In addition, 17 boxes of
new and gently used clothing and blankets were sent to a runaway shelter in Siberia and a
refugee center in war-torn Georgia.
|
