2015 Newsletter

This is a story of courage and strength that saddens us to write. We would like our donors to know that their generosity helped this family in their time of need.

Heather, as a single parent, adopted a brother and sister through the DCF program. They were eleven and twelve year old children that had issues such as autism, PTSD and learning disabilities. Heather has done an amazing job with their development and making them feel loved in a family setting. Heather met a wonderful man named Tim and in 2012 they got married and began to plan out a life together.

They shared the same love of children and in 2013 decided to adopt. They welcomed a young boy with special needs named Adam (3 years old) into their home and finalized the adoption in March 2015. Heather and Tim not only provided a loving home for their three children but continued to go above and beyond. They became a resource to other adoptive families and were always available to help them through their issues and concerns. Whether speaking to adoption training classes or meeting families individually, they were always trying to help.

Only weeks after the finalization of the adoption of their son Adam in March 2015, Tim developed a blood clot and died suddenly. There was no life insurance or savings sufficient to cover the expenses of a funeral or the ongoing care for the surviving children. Adam was heartbroken and found it difficult to understand that the man who loved him and took care of him daily was unexpectedly gone.

When we were informed by the DCF about this tragedy, the Stone Adoption Fund made contact with Heather. Although nothing can alleviate the pain that she and her children felt over losing Tim, we were able to ease some of the immediate financial concerns facing the family for the care and support of the children. Heather is a strong woman that will do her best to provide for the needs of her family. Our plan is to revisit this family next year to see if further assistance might be needed.