Hi, I’m Rebecca Peart. You may remember me as the girl who was adopted from Guangzhou, China. The girl who was abandoned when she was only a few days old.
That’s because I had written an column for The Clarkston News before. It was in April and about my story, my adoption from China to spread orphan awareness. It was my success story and I wanted to show the world orphans are not the meaningless delinquents society depicts them as.
I was fortunate enough to be working with The Orphan Foundation.
They are a great organization and I encourage checking them out at www.theorphan foundation.com.
However, as I write to you now, I am not working with them. This time I am working with my own nonprofit organization, Children With a Chance, at http://childrenwithachance. wixsite.com/childrenwithachance. Children With a Chance works to abolish the demeaning stereotypes of orphans and foster children.
The same thing I wanted to accomplish in my first column. We share the success stories of orphans and foster children to support adoption, but also to show the world and them that they can defy society’s standards and live a happy and prosperous life.
However, I cannot take all of the credit for this organization because I did not work alone to make all of this happen. I co-created Children With a Chance with my wonderful friend, Sydney Clements. Many thanks to her because I could not have done any of this without her.
I knew from the start two heads were better than one and I know we can do great things for orphans and foster kids.
While we also have the blog section where we will have the success stories, we also have informational pages on how much orphans and foster children are suffering, just to give some background information.
Also, since I was adopted it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t have a section on adoption. Because while the success stories can tell the world they can have a great life, in some cases it’s up to you all to give them one.
I was very supportive of adoption in April and that has not changed one bit. I knew when I wrote that article I wanted to help them more.
I wanted to help children get a family because every child deserves one. However, I knew that even though I had my story, I needed more of them.
Which is why I am asking that if you are or have been or know an orphan or a foster child, that you write your story and send it to us, with a picture attached, at our email childrenwithachance.org@gmail.com.
Just so you know, if you do submit a story, you are the owner of that story and you will always own the rights to it.
I strongly encourage anyone who has been an orphan or foster child that you submit your story so you help us show the world we are more than delinquents and criminals. By telling your story you can help make a difference for orphans and foster children all over.
When I thought of the idea of Children With a Chance, it was only a dream. I didn’t think that someone like me could create this organization. I’ve always been drawn to tell my story, and my mother asked me one day, “Haven’t you milked that enough?”
While, yes, I had certainly told my story countless times, I said , “No,” because while I’m here in Clarkston having a good life, someone in the orphanage I once lived in is not and it breaks my heart. It breaks my heart that so many children will be put down by society while I, someone who will always relate to them, isn’t put down.
When I say that I am truly thankful for my family and the life that they have given me, I truly am thankful, but it makes me wish more people got the loving family I got or the good life I have.
Children With a Chance is a beacon of hope to orphans and foster kids alike. There is still a chance at happiness. You can be successful, and that you can still have a wonderful family that loves you.
I can only hope this column and Children With a Chance can bring an orphan or foster child hope.
If I know one thing, if this helps one child out there, than this was completely and utterly worth the long nights designing all of this. And if this can save one, it can certainly save many more to come.