Adoption Network Cleveland

Please join the Transnational Adoptee Support Group on October 13, 2026, for a panel discussion featuring adoptees from Kazakhstan, Panama, Peru, Japan, and Russia. The panel will be addressing a special discussion topic: Multicultural Identity Exploration and Development.

This meeting is open to all and is a unique opportunity to hear about the transnational adoptee experience.

Tuesday, October 13
8 - 10 pm ET
Virtual meeting

Registration is required: https://ow.ly/2R7f50ZPHvX

Join us THIS THURSDAY for our monthly Family Ties Gathering on Thursday, October 8 at 6:00 pm.

🍽️ Dinner, connection, and a little breathing room — for the whole family.

Parenting through adoption, foster care and kinship care can be a complicated journey. Adoption Network Cleveland's Family Ties Gathering is a monthly evening where families come together, share a meal, and then break into supportive groups designed just for each member of your family.

For parents and caregivers — an open, supportive discussion with others who truly get it, facilitated by Adoption Network Cleveland staff.

For teens — a peer support group led by ANC staff, a space to connect with others who share their experience.

For younger kids — structured, engaging activities including yoga and mindfulness.

No one has to sit this one out. Family Ties is for everyone.

🗓 2nd Thursday of every month
🍽️ Dinner included
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 For the whole family📋

Register → https://ow.ly/6QuS50ZPIpq

Reconnecting the Dots to Family and Self with Tiana Hawver

Join us TOMORROW, Monday, October 5 at 8pm ET -- all are welcome!

ABOUT THIS PRESENTATION: At four months old, Tiana was adopted by a white couple. It was 1971, and the couple wanted a child that would have been considered hard to place. At that time, that meant a healthy, Black infant. While reunification with birth family wasn’t something that Tiana had considered, in 2018 she received a phone call from a confidential intermediary telling her that her birth mother had petitioned the court to find her. That phone call started a journey towards reconnecting with family—birth parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and more. It also brought to the forefront the trauma and abandonment of being separated from family that are part of the experience for adoptees. Tiana shares her story of reconnecting not only to family, but also discovering who she truly is at her core.

This program will take place virtually (via Zoom) on Monday, October 19 from 8pm-9pm ET. It is free to attend but will require advanced registration in order to receive the link. Sign up here: https://ow.ly/7uV650ZOsXC

All of our Monday Evening Speakers Series talks are posted to our YouTube channel after the fact, so you can always revisit (or watch for the first time!) these meaningful discussions. Learn more and access past talks here: https://ow.ly/5u3b50ZOsXE

CHEERS to our friends at Southern Tier Brewing Company for crafting a LIMITED EDITION b**r in honor of our Over The Edge urban rappelling event. Southern Tier will donate $1 per Over The Edge b**r sold to Adoption Network Cleveland. Ask for it by name! Supply is limited -- give it a try before it's gone! 💙🍻

Southern Tier Brewery is located in Downtown Cleveland at 811 Prospect Ave E, Cleveland, OH 44115. For hours and additional information, visit https://ow.ly/LGxb50ZSjSh

🟠Torn from the Root: A Memoir of a Black Transracial Adoptee with Rhonda Roorda 🟠

We are so happy to welcome Rhonda to our Monday Evening Speaker Series! Join us on Monday, October 19 at 8pm ET -- all are welcome!

ABOUT THIS PRESENTATION:
As a Black child adopted out of the New York foster care system as a toddler and raised by white evangelical parents, Rhonda Roorda had to learn how to walk in two different worlds. She often questioned “whether my skin was too dark” and if she “acted too white.” She recalls being haunted by feelings of shame and not being enough. Torn from the Root is her illuminating story of identity, belonging, and purpose and lays bare the deep pain she felt navigating life as a vulnerable Black girl and how she healed herself.

📍This program will take place virtually (via Zoom) on Monday, October 19 from 8pm-9pm ET. It is free to attend but will require advanced registration in order to receive the link. Sign up here: https://ow.ly/k76x50ZMH48

👉All of our Monday Evening Speakers Series talks are posted to our YouTube channel after the fact, so you can always revisit (or watch for the first time!) these meaningful discussions. Learn more and access past talks here: https://ow.ly/gxMV50ZMH47

🔦We are shining a spotlight on an upcoming production of DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE: THE FIGHT FOR TEXAS ADOPTEE RIGHTS, THEN AND NOW hosted by our friends at the National Association of Adoptees and Parents 🔦

ABOUT THIS EVENT:
As Texas heads into its 90th legislative session, the fight for adoptees' right to their own records is back on. Adoption advocates and the general public are coming together just blocks from the state capitol, at the Bullock Texas State History Museum, to examine the history of Texas adoptee rights, look toward the future, and celebrate the November launch of WONDERLAND: Memoir of a Black-Market Adoption by Patricia Knight Meyer (Nov. 3, Unsolicited Press).

Hosted by the National Association of Adoptees and Parents, we invite you to join us Friday night, November 6, in person or by livestream from Austin, Texas. The night will begin with a stage adaptation of a chapter from WONDERLAND, followed by a panel discussion led by Emily Ramshaw on the state of adoptee rights, concluding with a ticketed reception and book signing.

The event opens as the lights come up on a Texas kitchen, where a scene from WONDERLAND unfolds on stage. Emily Ramshaw, co-founder and CEO of The 19th and former co-chair of the Pulitzer Prize Board moderates. Panelists include Marci Purcell of Adoption Knowledge Affiliates, Renee Gelin of Saving Our Sisters, Joellen Peters of Support Texas Adoptee Rights, and Patricia Knight Meyer, of the National Association of Adoptees and Parents.

WHEN: Friday, November 6, 2026, 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET
WHERE: AUSTIN, TEXAS (IN PERSON) and LIVESTREAM

This is a not-for-profit event benefiting the National Association of Adoptees and Parents, Saving Our Sisters, and Adoption Knowledge Affiliates. Attend in person or watch for free from anywhere.

💜Adoption Network Cleveland is proud to be an in-kind supporter of this production💜

Register for free on Eventbrite 👉 https://ow.ly/gCVI50ZOKA1

https://ow.ly/sZEw50ZU0vv

Nearly 60 years after his adoption, man learns Grammy Award-winning musician Michael McDonald is his biological father A St. Louis man learned nearly 60 years after his adoption that Michael McDonald was his biological father. The two have since reunited.

ICYMI: Our October Hub newsletter hit inboxes earlier this week!

In this edition....
💙A note from Betsie, our Founder and Executive Director
💙Details about our Annual Meeting, coming up on November 19
💙A reminder to nominate an Advocate of the Year (deadline: October 9)
💙Info about Adoption Remembrance Day (October 30)
💙UPDATES about the Embodying Grief workshop -- it has been changed to a one-day workshop with two dates on offer (November 13 & 14)
💙Info about our December offering of Adoption 101
💙A call for PHOTOS! As we make our way through our 39th year, we are asking folks to share pictures with us from ANC programs or from the relationships that came from your connection to ANC
💙An invitation to Down the Rabbit Hole, a partner event
💙An encore presentation of a blog post about the founding of ANC
💙Upcoming Monday Evening Speaker Series info
💙General Discussion meeting info, including TWO special topics in October
💙Updates on Family Programs...and so much more!

To check out the full newsletter, click here: https://ow.ly/U7um50ZTHlG

Did you know you can donate to Adoption Network Cleveland through your workplace charitable giving campaign?

Each year, many workplaces run charitable giving campaigns through an organization such as United Way Services or simply through their Human Resources department. You can designate Adoption Network Cleveland as your charity of choice for a one-time gift or payroll deduction to support our programs and services all year long.

Learn more here: https://ow.ly/yakv50ZHt3a

💛 You are not alone on this journey.

If you're a birth mother navigating the emotions that come with placing your child for adoption, there's a space made just for you.

Adoption Network Cleveland's Birth Mother Support Group is a free, virtual gathering where women at every stage of this lifelong journey come together to share, heal, and support one another.

✨ No judgment. No pressure. Just understanding from women who truly get it.

🗓 First Wednesday of every month - Next meeting is October 7
🕖 7–9 PM ET | Via Zoom
👩‍💻 Free & open to all birth mothers

Meetings are led by trained volunteer facilitators Lindsey and Nikki. This group is a complement to — not a replacement for — therapy, focusing on the emotional heart of your experience.

📋 Registration required — https://ow.ly/eMEM50ZPI8a