November is Adoption Awareness Month, and today Bonfire is celebrating World Adoption Day with Hannah Eloge of Kindred + Co! Hannah is currently running a fundraising campaign on Bonfire.com for her friend Melody who is adopting.
Read more about Hannah’s passion for family and her brave adoption community at Kindred + Co’s blog, Instagram, and Facebook. And be sure to check out her fundraiser.
Hannah and her husband Josh always knew they wanted to grow their family through adoption. In August of 2015 they realized it was time to start the process (at a Johnnyswim concert in Chicago). And exactly 9 months later, they flew home with their twin girls, Ezra + Olive.
“After five years of marriage, we decided it was time to start out family and there wasn’t much question that we would grow our family through adoption. Adoption was always our Plan A. What did surprise us was that we decided to go with domestic adoption. We always pictured that we would adopt internationally but when we decided to start the process, we both felt a new tug towards domestic adoption. My husband is in medical school and domestic adoption just made more sense with where we are in our lives. A huge reason we chose domestic adoption is because we wanted an open adoption, we wanted a relationship with our son or daughter’s birth mom to the extent that she felt comfortable.”
A few months after bringing their daughters home, Hannah began thinking about launching a brave online community centered around adoption. Through her adoption process she saw where her gifts could meet the needs of other adoptive families. She was getting daily emails asking questions like: “I want to adopt, where should I start”, “I love your profile book, how do I make one?” “We don’t have funds for our adoption, and I am scared to fundraise, what should we do?”. And more than wanting to create a place with resources for people interested in adoption, she wanted a community for people where they would feel supported — no matter what side of the adoption process they were on. Adoption can be lonely, and full of joy and disappointment, and sometimes it just helps to know that someone understands and has been there as well. So, Kindred + Co. was born as a space for families to learn, listen, participate, and grow, as they weave adoption into their story.
“The adoption process was a rollercoaster of emotion, but what we didn’t expect to find was an incredible community that helped us navigate all the unknowns. I started Kindred + Co. to give that same community to others.”
“Kindred + Co. is a brave adoption community, sharing stories that show the beauty and the brokenness of adoption. We believe that we are truly better together. That we can do more together than we can do alone. We believe that life isn’t always black and white, and that in the gray and the messiness of life is where transformation happens and life is truly lived out.”
Hannah is currently running a Bonfire campaign to benefit an adopting family in her Kindred + Co community! Melody and her husband are currently walking the domestic adoption journey, and proceeds from t-shirt sales are going toward helping them bring their child home.
Follow along with Hannah and Kindred + Co as this community grows:
- https://www.instagram.com/kindredand.co
- https://www.facebook.com/kindredandcompany
- https://www.kindredand.co
Over the years, so many families have used our platform to fundraise for their adoptions. All of us at Bonfire have loved being just a small part of these stories. Nothing brings us more joy than seeing moms and dads who raised money with us meet their little miracles for the first time. And, this is the month to celebrate that.
If you want to raise money for your own adoption with Bonfire, you can get started for free, here! We would love to join you in YOUR adoption story.
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