HEART GALLERY

Finding Permanent Families for Massachusetts’ Children in Foster Care Awaiting Adoption

Organized by the Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange, Inc. (MARE), the Heart Gallery is a striking exhibit of portraits of children in the state’s foster care system in need of adoption. Professional and amateur photographers volunteer their expertise to create remarkable images of the children. Most of the youth have been waiting at least one year to find a family to call their own, and include school-aged children, sibling groups, children of color, and those with emotional, intellectual, and physical difficulties.

The goal of the Heart Gallery is to raise awareness about adoption from foster care and to find adoptive homes for the more than 500 Massachusetts’ children who wait. The exhibit travels to various venues across the Commonwealth and permanent displays are in all four Jordan’s Furniture stores. We are grateful to Jordan’s for its commitment in helping to find permanent families for children in foster care.

Since the inception of the Heart Gallery in Massachusetts in 2005, 75 percent of the children featured are now with safe, permanent, adoptive families.

Click here to view the 2009 Heart Gallery online.

2009 Heart Gallery Locations

June 8 to July 20: South Shore Plaza
250 Granite St.
Braintree, MA 02184

July 20 to September 14: Cape Cod Mall
793 Iyannough Rd.
Hyannis, MA 02601

In addition to the traveling Heart Gallery, MARE also features smaller versions of the exhibit at various locations across the state. A site can feature anywhere from one photo of a waiting child to more than 10. Some Heart Gallery portraits will be up for specific dates, while others may be up for an indefinite period of time. Images of children available for adoption can be seen at the following sites:

Cambridge Health Alliance Malden Family Medical Center
195 Canal Street, #105
Malden, MA 02148

Dorchester YMCA
776 Washington Street
Boston, MA 02111

Executive Office of Health and Human Services
One Ashburton Place, 11th Floor
Boston, MA 02108

Jordan's Furniture - Avon
100 Stockwell Drive
Avon, MA 02322-1108

Jordan's Furniture – Nashua, N.H.
327 Daniel Webster Highway
Nashua, NH 03060-5702

Jordan's Furniture - Natick
1 Underprice Way (Route 9)
Natick, MA 01760

Jordan's Furniture - Reading
50 Walker's Brook Drive
Reading, MA 01867

Greenfield Savings Bank
6 University Drive
Amherst, MA 01002

Springfield College, Boston School of Human Resources
The Schrafft Center
529 Main Street, Suite 1M4
Boston, MA 02129

The Treehouse Foundation
One Treehouse Circle
Easthampton, MA 01027

How YOU can help children in need:

MARE is always looking to bring Heart Gallery portraits to new and exciting locations in an effort to raise awareness of the need for foster and adoptive families. Do you know of a perfect place to feature a waiting child? Maybe in your office building? Or a local church? If so, then contact Kristin Erekson, public relations and fundraising associate, at 617-542-3678 or at kristine@mareinc.org.

OUR 2009 VOLUNTEER HEART GALLERY PHOTOGRAPHERS

Ali Donze

Amy Yanover

Brian Sullivan

Brian Sullivan

David Barron

David Carmack

Edson Dias

Eric Laurits

Frank Siteman

Gerald Groccia

Greg Hren

Judith Halperin

Karen Wong

Katie Ryan

Ken Kotch

Kent Earle

Kristyn Nordstrom

Mary Flatley/Liz Linder

Melanie Stetson-Freeman

Mike Ritter

Mimi Ritzen

Nancy Gould

Penny Pesaturo

Robert Orr

Steve Briggs

Suzanne Larocque

Terry Tarantelli-Louison

MARE is partially funded by the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families.
Comments or Questions to: web@mareinc.org - Copyright © 2007 MARE, Inc. All rights reserved.