Jordan’s Annual Walk/Run for Adoption Helps Local Children Find Adoptive Homes

Furniture World News Desk on 5/17/2019

Jordan’s Furniture announced that it is hosting the 10th Annual Walk/Run for Adoption on Sunday, May 19 from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm at its Taunton location. This event will benefit the Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange (MARE) in its ongoing mission to find adoptive homes for children and teens waiting in foster care.
 
MARE focuses on children in the custody of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF) who cannot be reunited with their birth families, including those who are considered more difficult to place – teens, sibling groups, and children with emotional, physical, and intellectual challenges. These children are in need of adoptive families and a place to call home.
 
“What a great way to celebrate foster care adoption…through an event that celebrates families”, says Eliot Tatelman, President of Jordan’s Furniture. “I love this event and am so proud to host it each year”, he continues. “It is such a wonderful feeling to know that we helped to bring children and parents together to create families. It does not get any better! MARE has been a crucial partner during our 20-year commitment to the adoption community.”
 
The family-friendly event kicks off at 10:00 am with a 5K race followed by an after party filled with food, music, and activities including face painting, balloon artistry, glitter tattoos, a family photo booth, and arts and crafts. Registration is $35; $15 for kids 3-12. If you register online, you can form a team and/or create your own fundraising page and help provide even more support for adoption from foster care. Can't attend, but want to fundraise? Register as a virtual participant and you can take part in all the rewarding activities without the exercise. If your schedule won’t allow you to fundraise or attend, please consider making a donation to support MARE.
 
By participating in the Jordan’s Furniture Walk/Run for Adoption you will help change a child’s life by supporting MARE’s work to recruit adoptive parents for children and youth in state care. Nationwide, there are over 117,000 children waiting in foster care, in need of adoption. In Massachusetts, over 3,400 children currently in foster care have the goal of adoption, and more than 1,100 of those children have no relative or other potential adopter. Older, school-aged children, sibling groups, children of color and/or children with special needs tend to wait the longest for families.
 
MARE’s Executive Director, Lisa Funaro, shared, “We simply cannot do this important work alone. We count on the generosity and resources from community members to help us in our mission to find adoptive homes for youth from foster care.”  She went on to say, “While raising funds is important, that isn’t what this day is all about… It’s about celebrating adoption and acknowledging the joy that children bring to a family. I am so pleased to see many of the same families every year, some of whom met at this very event, continuing to gather together and experience the joy and camaraderie of their shared experience.”
 
To register for the event or to make a donation, visit jordanswalkforadoption.org. To learn about adoption from foster care, contact MARE at 617-964-MARE (6273) or visit mareinc.org.

 
Prospective adoptive parents can be almost any age (18+); single, partnered, married, LGBT; homeowners or renters; experienced parents or new to parenting. Families of various income levels can adopt, as long as they have a stable source of income to support a child. There are no fees to adopt a child from foster care. Financial subsidies may be available, and children adopted from foster care are eligible for a tuition-waiver at Massachusetts state colleges and universities.

About MARE: MARE is a private, non-profit organization, founded in 1957 to find adoptive homes for children and teens in foster care, including sibling groups and children who are traditionally harder to place. For more information about MARE, please visit mareinc.org.

About Jordan's Furniture: Jordan’s Furniture, the premiere furniture and mattress retailer in New England, has one of highest grossing sales per square foot records in The United States. With indoor features like Beantown, Sunbrella IMAX 3D Theaters, a 4-level ropes course, indoor water shows, an iconic holiday village display, and full-service restaurants, Jordan’s Furniture is the leader in combining entertainment with shopping. Store locations are destinations, with the average time spent on-site over double the industry average. Customer Service at Jordan’s is paramount. Jordan’s 1400 employees, the “J-Team”, excel at providing an unparalleled shopping experience. Established over 100 years ago and starting as a family business, Jordan’s Furniture is a community leader in their markets and believes in giving back to the community through charitable partnerships. They currently have six store locations including Avon MA, Natick MA, Reading MA, Nashua NH, Warwick, RI and New Haven CT, along with a Distribution Center Taunton, MA. For more information about Jordan’s Furniture, please visit jordans.com.