By the age of 16, Deidre had lived with three foster care families, two of which considered adopting her. Neither adoption worked out, and when the second fell through, Deidre said, she closed off her emotions to avoid being hurt again.

"Unknown to her, however, the Hills had spotted her on an ongoing... television news feature, 'A Gift of Love,' in October 2006. The segment prompted them to search the Internet, where they located Deidre on the Heart Gallery website."

Two years later, with the adoption complete, Deidre is helping other members of her Kiwanis Club to create an adoption exhibit in conjunction with "Why Not Me?," a Texas campaign to raise awareness about the adoption needs of older foster care children. Source: Longview (TX) News-Journal

Labels: foster_families, awareness

Posted By: Aspen Education Group