Local Photographers Give Faces to Texas Foster Children
Every day in Texas, hundreds of children are available to be adopted. Most people never see these kids. They remain faceless, without a voice, waiting in the wings for a family, and in some cases, a home that never comes. The Heart Gallery of Northwest Texas will feature portraits taken by local, professional photographers of children in foster care who are waiting to be adopted. Through the power of the camera lens, the Heart Gallery hopes to unite these children with the families they were meant to love.
These portraits offer a window into the worlds of these children and raise awareness of the many adoption opportunities available right here in Northwest Texas. The photographers are volunteering their time and talent to photograph some 50 children and truly capture the soul of each of these youngsters, shedding light on what makes each of them special.
The Heart Gallery of Northwest Texas was spearheaded by Child Protective Services and in collaboration with The Child Welfare Boards and Community Volunteers. The project is a spin-off of a wildly popular exhibit that started in New Mexico. The Heart Gallery concept has already proven effective in other cities, with many seeing three-fold adoption increases as a result.
The Brown County Child Welfare Board has brought this stunning photography exhibit to Heartland Mall in Early where it will remain through April. Board members hope this effort will bring awareness and increase adoption rates within our community. This venue will be open to the public in hopes of finding homes for these special children. As children are adopted, other children will be added to the exhibit. The ultimate goal is to make the Heart Gallery of Northwest Texas an ongoing production that will continue to find homes for children in need of adoption.
ABOUT THE HEART GALLERY – On March 29, 2001, at the suggestion of Santa Fe photographer and adoptive mother Cathy Maier Callanan, the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD) brought the expression “a picture is worth a thousand words” to life at the nation’s first Heart Gallery exhibit. In January 2005, a national article about the project touched the hearts of millions of readers, resulting in an explosion of Heart Galleries across America, where 118,000 foster children are waiting to be adopted. Currently, 42 states have held or are planning Heart Galleries, and the number of Heart Gallery-inspired placements in the end should number in the thousands.
