The Charbonneau Villager Newspaper 2019 Mar issue Villager newspaper

14 THE CHARBONNEAU VILLAGER March 2019 Cypress Boys and Girls Aid By MARGIE WIESENTHAL BOYS AND GIRLS AID It’s all about family, as both birth and adoptive parents are helped through the process "If we could see the miracle of a single fl ower, clearly our whole life would change." Jack Kornfi eld, Buddha's Little Instruction Book Speaking of miracles, every parent marvels at the miracle of a new baby. Each mother and father continues to marvel as the baby grows into childhood and adulthood. Those of us who are grandparents continue to marvel at this miracle of continuing life. Our lives have certainly been changed. Boys and Girls Aid of Portland has been changing the lives of families through their miracles for over 135 years. At the last luncheon of our local Cypress Branch of Boys and Girls Aid, we heard the account of what this organization does with the adoption process. Our speaker was Crystal Ignatowski, options counselor and birthparent clinician. She is pictured here with Megan Bos, development officer. Crystal is on the left, Megan is on the right. Boys and Girls Aid works with the birth parent before the birth of a baby, and for a long time afterward, helping with whatever is needed. This might include hospital bills, rent assistance or job placement. The adoptive parent or parents are carefully screened and each makes a book about their lives and families. There are a number of adoptive parents waiting for just the right child. Each has made a book. These The Journey Join Julianne Johnson Weiss as she shares ƐƚŽƌŝĞƐŽĨ:ŽǇ͕/ŶƐƉŝƌĂƟŽŶĂŶĚ,ŽƉĞ͘ About the series: ŶũŽǇ:ƵůŝĂŶŶĞ͛ƐƉĞƌƐŽŶĂůƚĞƐƟŵŽŶǇĂŶĚƚŚĞ ƐƉĞĐŝĂůŐƵĞƐƚƐƉĞĂŬĞƌƐƐŚĞǁŝůůďƌŝŶŐƚŽŚĞůƉ ǁŽŵĞŶŽĨĂůůĂŐĞƐ͘^ĞĞƚŚĞŚŽƉĞŝŶĞǀĞƌǇĚĂǇ ĐŚĂůůĞŶŐĞƐ͘dĂŬĞ͞dŚĞ:ŽƵƌŶĞǇ͞ǁŝƚŚ:ƵůŝĂŶŶĞ ŝƐƐƵƌĞƚŽƵƉůŝŌǇŽƵƌƐƉŝƌŝƚĂŶĚŝůůƵŵŝŶĂƚĞƚŚĞ ƉĂƚŚƚŽǇŽƵƌŽǁŶƉĞƌƐŽŶĂůĞǆƉĞƌŝĞŶĐĞƐĂŶĚ ƐƚŽƌŝĞƐ͘ DƵůƟŐĞŶĞƌĂƟŽŶĂů “Women’s Ministry” A series by Julianne Johnson Weiss March 5th 6:30pm April 9th 6:30pm May 7th 6:30pm June 4th 6:30pm KƵƌŚĂƉĞůǁŝůůŐŝǀĞǇŽƵĂƉůĂĐĞƚŽƐŚĂƌĞǇŽƵƌ ůŝĨĞĞǆƉĞƌŝĞŶĐĞƐĂŶĚĚŝƐĐŽǀĞƌƚŚŽƐĞŬŝŶĚƌĞĚ ƐƉŝƌŝƚƐǁŚŽƐŚĂƌĞƐŝŵŝůĂƌũŽƵƌŶĞǇƐ͘WůĞĂƐĞ ĐŽŵĞĂŶĚũŽŝŶƵƐĨŽƌĂǁŽŶĚĞƌĨƵůŶŝŐŚƚŽĨ ƐƉŝƌŝƚĂŶĚũŽǇĞǀĞƌǇĮƌƐƚdƵĞƐĚĂǇŽĨƚŚĞŵŽŶƚŚ ďĞŐŝŶŶŝŶŐŝŶDĂƌĐŚϮϬϭϵ͊ >ĞƚƚŚĞũŽƵƌŶĞǇďĞŐŝŶ͊ ϱϬϴEtϯƌĚǀĞŶƵĞ Canby OR 97013 SUBMITTED PHOTO Options Counsler Crystal Ignatowski (left) and Development Offi cer Megan Bos help Boys and Girls Aid fulfi ll its mission of helping families with the adoption process. books are shown to a birth parent before the birth of the child and the birth parent chooses two or three of the families from these books. Then the birth parent interviews the chosen families, one at a time, with more than one counselor present. The birth parent takes the lead during the interview. The birth parent then chooses a family for the coming child. By law it F ITNESS C ENTER The Charbonneau Fitness Center is only $60 for a six-month membership. Contact the CCC offi ce to sign up. takes at least 6 months for the adoption to become final. The adoptive family is counseled both before and after the adoption is final. Using this method Boys and Girls Aid works miracles for many families. If you enter the headquarters of the organization you will see their motto: It's All About Family. However it costs a lot of money to do it so successfully. The Cypress Branch of Boys and Girls Aid supports these efforts with time, talent and donations. Each month we meet for a luncheon at SpringRidge. The next one is March 15 at 11:30 a.m. Cost of the luncheon is $15 at the door. Visitors and guests are welcome. At each luncheon we hear about all that is going on and what is new at Boys and Girls Aid. For further information about this luncheon call Cherie Sanville at 503- 694-5826. For more information about Boys and Girls Aid please visit our website www.boysandgirlsaid.org To see what is happening at the Charbonneau Cypress Branch please visit www.cypressonline.org ■ Constance S . Snyder LAW OFFICE Wills - Trusts Power of Attorney Probate - Family Law Business Law Elder Law Also serving former clients of Julie Carr James 8655 SW Citizens Dr. Suite 104 Wilsonville 503-682-8669 www.csnyderlegal.com

The Charbonneau Villager Newspaper 2019 Mar issue Villager newspaper | Page 14