Last week I donated my photography services to the Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange (MARE). Organized by MARE, The Heart Gallery is a striking exhibit of portraits of children in the state’s foster care system in need of adoption. Most of the youth have been waiting at least one year to find a family to call their own, and include school-aged children, sibling groups, children of color, and those with emotional, intellectual, and physical difficulties.

The goal of The Heart Gallery is to raise awareness about adoption from foster care and to find adoptive homes for the more than 500 Massachusetts’ children who wait. The exhibit travels to various venues across the Commonwealth and permanent displays are in all four Jordan’s Furniture stores. We are grateful to Jordan’s for its commitment in helping to find permanent families for children in foster care.

Since the inception of the Heart Gallery in Massachusetts in 2005, 75 percent of the children featured are now with safe, permanent, adoptive families.

To view the 2009 Heart Gallery online click here. (DiasPhotos haven’t been posted yet).

The Heart Gallery will be showing:
June 8 to July 20: South Shore Plaza
250 Granite St.
Braintree, MA 02184

July 20 to September 14: Cape Cod Mall
793 Iyannough Rd.
Hyannis, MA 02601

How YOU can help children in need:

MARE is always looking to bring Heart Gallery portraits to new and exciting locations in an effort to raise awareness of the need for foster and adoptive families. Do you know of a perfect place to feature a waiting child? Maybe in your office building? Or a local church? If so, then contact Kristin Erekson, public relations and fundraising associate, at 617-542-3678 or at kristine@mareinc.org.