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  • Ampersand Families Ampersand Families

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Mission Statement

Ampersand Families recruits and supports permanent families for older youth, and champions practices in adoption and permanency that restore belonging, dignity, and hope.

Description

Ampersand Families is the only adoption agency in Minnesota that focuses exclusively on finding permanent families for waiting youth ages 10 and older. The agency provides child specific recruitment services to youth, training/home studies and support to families and consultation and training regarding permanency and system improvement to professionals.

Ampersand Families is proud to provide adoption services through the Public Private Adoption Initiative (PPAI), funded by Minnesota Department of Human Services (MN DHS). Thanks to PPAI, virtually every family served by Ampersand Families receives training, home study and placement support at no cost to the family. Post finalization support is provided by Ampersand Families through the financial generosity of individual, corporate and foundation donors.

Because adoptive families make an unconditional, life long commitment to the youth they adopt, Ampersand Families believes it's only ethical to make an unconditional, non-time-limited commitment to our families. We will be there to support you when things get hard- no matter how long ago you finalized your adoption.

It is our belief that surrounding adopted teens and their families with communities of support, friendship, and practical and professional expertise leads to better results and families that can thrive.

Ampersand Families is the home of Minnesota Heart Gallery--a statewide effort to promote awareness of waiting youth and to promote a waiting child's sense of dignity and worth through the use of professional photography. Heart Gallery relies on the expertise of nearly 200 volunteer photographers located throughout the state and the generosity of individual, corporate and foundation donors to fund staff to coordinate photo shoots and gallery exhibit showings. Visit the on-line gallery at www.minnesotaheartgallery.org.

Website

http://www.ampersandfamilies.org

Contact

Reviews

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by Michelle C. from Saint Paul, MN (Administrator for this Organization) (December 16, 2013)
Wouldn't you love to be on a board with Laura (see her note, below)? Ampersand Families is seeking board members with a passion for our mission and the ability to contribute about 8-10 hours a month to supporting our work. Board members are expected to attend meetings, participate in committee work and to support the agency's fundraising efforts. Our board is especially seeking new members from outside the twin cities metro area in order to better reflect the communities in which we work. The board currently needs members with skills in communications, fund development, technology use for non-profits and legislative or judicial experience. Ampersand Families is in the middle of a serious initiative to ensure that our board reflects the youth, families and communities we serve. With that goal in mind, the board particularly invites persons of color and persons from outside the twin cities metro area to consider exploring board membership at Ampersand Families.
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by Laura L. from Minneapolis, MN (December 11, 2013)
I have served as a volunteer Board Member for the last 2 years. Here are some of the reasons why board membership has been so rewarding for me: (1) Commitment to board development. A consistent agenda item is our own development as leaders. We make time to educate the board about the issues that are important to our mission, and to work on the skills we need to move the mission forward. (2) A culture of courage, integrity, and hope. It's inspiring to work for an organization that is devoted to doing the right thing, even when it's the hard thing. (3) The mission is so worthwhile. It's a powerful thing to insist that every young person, no matter his/her history of trauma, abuse/neglect, can be restored to a safe, permanent family. (4) The transformation is exciting. Ampersand Families' model dramatically changes the odds for the youth it serves, and its innovations are transforming the field! (5) Substance. No bureaucratic inefficiency.
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