Adoption Option Trust
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New Zealand has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in the developed world.
Help the Adoption Option Trust offer another choice for young women facing an unplanned pregnancy.
A Sovereign Sunshine donation supports the cost of producing and distributing information nationwide showing how adoption is very different today and that it can be a positive option.
The Adoption Option Trust is:
• the only organisation in New Zealand promoting adoption to women facing unplanned/crisis pregnancies
• is committed to educating all health professionals who work with pregnant women about the practice of open adoption.
• has been established for over two years. We have distributed over 2000 DVDs and we are now recognised by the media as a key voice on adoption matters.
• run completely by volunteers. All money raised is spent on resources. No money is spent on office space or salaries.
• works closely with other organisations in the area of pregnancy counselling and maternity care and has forged close links to the Birth Mum Support Network.
Why would a woman place her child for adoption?
Courtney, aged 14, got pregnant at a music festival. A family friend, a youth worker, had seen a presentation about the Adoption Option Trust and he gave Courtney’s mum the website address. Her mum emailed the Trust and a Trustee called and organised to post out the DVD. The Trustee made regular phone calls offering a listening ear throughout the pregnancy and the adoption process. Courtney has an open adoption and is now back and doing well at school.
Kelly 19 was about to start her first year of Varsity studies when she was raped. She was devastated to discover she was pregnant but felt it would be a double tragedy to have an abortion. She decided to place her baby for adoption and her mum contacted the Adoption Option Trust for advice on the process. The Trust linked Kelly into the Birth Mum Support Network who texted and called her regularly throughout the pregnancy and the adoption process The Adoption Option Trust also kept in contact via telephone calls and emails. Kelly followed through with her plan for an open adoption. She intends to resume her studies shortly.
*Names have been changed but these are true stories.
Winning a donation from Sovereign will help us achieve:
Having successfully distributed our resource packs in Christchurch and the Nelson region we want to get the information on open adoption out to the rest of the country. We want to update our website to make more use of this tool and to make it more youth friendly. We also want to add more birth mum stories to our DVD. We are all volunteers and have no offices. All the money will be used to update these resources and to continue to supply DVD's to women with unplanned pregnancies.
Our details:
| Registration No: | CC22714 |
| Region: | Hawke's Bay/East Coast, Waikato/Bay of Plenty/Rotorua, Manawatu/Wanganui/Kapiti, Northland, Taranaki, Wellington, Auckland, Central Auckland, South Auckland, North Auckland, West Auckland, East Auckland, Canterbury/South Canterbury, Southland, West Coast, Nelson/Marlborough |
| Category: | Teenage advice & support |
| Contact Person: | Sue Kingham (Chairperson) |
| Address: | PO Box 13434 Christchurch 8141 |
| Telephone: | 021 124 3793 |
| Email: | info@adoptionoption.org.nz |
| Website: | www.adoptionoption.org.nz |
| No. helped nationally: | 35,770 women under the age of 25 were pregnant 2007. Of this number many were unplanned, crisis pregnancies |
| No. helped per project: | Thousands of young women would benefit from this project. |
| Existing sponsors or funders: | To date we have received funding from the Tindall Foundation for Christchurch distribution and the Maurice Carter Trust for the Nelson distribution. |
