Family leads a 'Hello West' journey to raise awareness of adoption programs

VADNAIS HEIGHTS, Minn. (The Catholic Spirit) - Jeanne and Neal Binsfeld, parents of eight children -- five of them adopted -- are preparing for a month-long journey to talk about the importance of adoption, especially of older children.

The Binsfelds, residents of Vadnais Heights and members of St. Cecilia in St. Paul, will conduct a "Hello West" tour from Aug. 1 to 27, stopping in towns between Minnesota and Arizona. The Binsfelds even created their own non-profit program, "Creating Connections East2West," to help them raise awareness about adoption programs nationwide. . As part of the trip, the couple will be taking their 19-year-old adopted daughter, Sarah, to the University of Arizona at Tucson, where she has been awarded a wheelchair basketball scholarship and will study sports therapeutic recreation. . The Binsfelds will talk about children waiting for adoption in each state they visit, Jeanne said. Sarah said she is grateful for her parents, who adopted her when she was nine months old, and she is glad to see them encourage others to adopt. . "I like my family a lot," Sarah said. "They are awesome. We all bond really well together. They are really trying to focus on getting older kids adoptive homes. I think that's great." To aid them in their campaign, the Binsfelds will work with AdoptUsKids, a project of the Children's Bureau, which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Rebecca Jones Gaston, AdoptUSKids campaign and fulfillment director, said the Binsfelds will meet with AdoptUsKids recruitment response teams along the way. "The response teams will provide them with information on adoption programs in each state," Jones Gaston said. "We hope they will generate media buzz and [we] will provide them with information to talk about adoption on the local level." The couple also will meet with adoption agencies and adoptive families, Jones Gaston said. AdoptUsKids will give the Binsfelds a magnetic billboard for their vehicle to advertise the national adoption program. The Binsfelds also contacted the Minnesota Adoptive Resource Network and partnered with them to profile children waiting to be adopted in Minnesota. Children's profiles include a photograph with a brief description of the child. Profiles are given out in news articles or during a community event where potential adoptive families may meet the child. The couple will work closely with MARN staff as they travel through southwestern states and highlight the organization's Homecoming Project, a Minnesota Department of Human Services initiative to increase the number of adoptions of adolescents who are under state guardianship in Minnesota. Michelle Chalmers, Homecoming Project coordinator, said the Binsfelds are doing something that adoption experts are not equipped to do. "We are so grateful for their commitment to get older kids adopted," Chalmers said. "They have one powerful recruitment tool -- that is family." According to MARN , there are about 550 Minnesota children waiting to be placed in an adoptive home. Children ages 13 to 17 make up 22 percent of the total. "Minnesota has done a really, really good job of finding adoptive homes for younger children," Chalmers said. "We are working just as hard to place the teenagers in adoptive families." Jeanne Binsfeld said their is a real need for more families who are willing to adopt teenagers to step forward. "We are concerned about these older adoptive children," she said. "Little, cute kids are more likely to get adopted. But the older kids, kids with health issues or mental and emotional behavioral issues, are obviously harder to place. "However, there are families that would love to parent these children and teenagers," she added. "They would also love the gifts and potential they bring to the family." Eight Minnesota teens seeking adoptive homes will take a virtual "Hello West" tour with the Binsfelds through postcards. "The Binsfelds' children are being matched with these eight children," Chalmers said. The family will share the Minnesota teens' stories as they travel in each state. On July 30, St. Cecilia will host an ice cream social and raffle after its 10 a.m. Mass to raise money to defray the costs of the Binsfelds' trip. Paula Almer, administrative assistant at St. Cecilia, said luxury baskets will be raffled off at $5 a chance. Some baskets include stays at five-star hotels and various entertainment packages, Almer said. Other local groups and businesses also are planning to provide the couple with financial and material support, Almer said. The Binsfelds believe their Catholic faith fuels their passion for their adoptive children and their drive to embark on the awareness project. "Sometimes we feel like we are getting kicked in the pants when we begin to slow down," Jeanne quipped. "Sometimes we feel that the guidance from God challenges us beyond where we want to be challenged," she added.

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This story was made available to Catholic Online by permission of The Catholic Spirit(www.thecatholicspirit.com), official newspaper of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minn.