Special Needs Adoption

Steven Curtis Chapman and Tim Tebow team up to promote special needs adoptions

 

By Dave Andrusko
In Evangelical Christian circles, it’d be difficult to imagine two names much better known than Grammy award winner Steven Curtis Chapman and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow. An announcement sent out this week informs us that their respective foundations have teamed up—an Alliance to “create Greater Awareness and Provides Assistance for Families of Special Needs Adoptions.”
Mr. Chapman and his wife Mary Beth founded Show Hope™, a nonprofit orphan care ministry, ten years ago. Mr. Tebow’s “Tim Tebow Foundation” is of a more recent vintage but equally helpful.
We have written about Tebow’s pro-life convictions on several occasions. (For example, http://nrlc.cc/ZDRbrJ and http://nrlc.cc/ZDRfHZ.)
What follows is taken from their release.
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Show Hope™, a nonprofit orphan care ministry founded by GRAMMY® award winning Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife Mary Beth, is honored to announce a partnership with the Tim Tebow Foundation that will raise awareness and provide assistance for families, who have a desire to adopt children with special needs.
“We are privileged to combine our efforts with funds provided by the Tim Tebow Foundation to provide critical help to waiting children with special needs,” said Scott Hasenbalg, Executive Director, Show Hope. “With this assistance, we can help to remove the financial barrier that exists for many families. We celebrate the thousands of children that Show Hope has helped through the miracle of adoption, but the truth is, the need is great. Together, we will help make adoption a reality as we continue to transform the lives of many children with special needs.”
Show Hope believes that the millions of waiting children around the world should not be left as orphans. By collaboratively addressing their needs, this partnership will have a life-changing impact in illuminating the need for families to adopt children with special needs and by helping to place these children from across the globe with forever families. Additionally, families will be awarded with financial grants to help them overcome the high cost of adoption.
“We are so excited to be able to partner with Show Hope in providing financial assistance to these families who are courageously adopting children with special needs,” said Erik Dellenback, Executive Director, Tim Tebow Foundation. “We believe this program is a great way to share God’s love and it ties perfectly to our mission to bring Faith Hope and Love to those needing a brighter day in their darkest hour of need.”

In helping to shape an adoption-friendly culture, the goal is to come together through this alignment to raise awareness and provide assistance for families to adopt children with special needs and make it a viable option for many to build their families.
Since Show Hope’s inception ten years ago, monetary donations to their Adoption Aid Program have helped to provide more than 3,500 waiting orphans with forever families through financial grants. Additionally, hundreds of orphans with special needs have received the medical care they so desperately needed through Show Hope’s Special Care Centers in China. Yet, millions of orphaned children are still waiting for a forever family.

“Ten years ago we began this ministry because the need outgrew what we were blessed to do by ourselves,” explains Steven Curtis Chapman. “We always believed we can do more by working together and we are thrilled to be working with Tim and his foundation – we believe this is the start of life change for many orphaned children with special needs in the months and years to come.”
Approximately 1,000 families apply annually to Show Hope for adoption assistance. Often, families are willing to welcome a child into their home, but are unable to afford the high cost, which averages $25,000 per adoption. Due to the lack of funding, more than 8,000 grant requests have been turned away since Show Hope was founded in 2003. With the financial support from the Tim Tebow Foundation, Show Hope can help more children through grants, which will be awarded in the average amount of $7,000 to $10,000 to each family. With an initial contribution given in December, a hundred percent of the donations received from the Tim Tebow Foundation will go directly toward special needs adoptions. As a result, about 10 to 14 additional families will receive grants on an annual basis.

Additionally, to commemorate the past decade, Show Hope is hosting its 10-year Anniversary Celebration with two full days of fellowship, food, music and fun for the entire family. The event will take place Saturday, May 25 at Show Hope’s office in Franklin, Tenn., and carry through to Sunday, May 26 at Lipscomb University in downtown Nashville where attendees will enjoy a live concert featuring Steven Curtis Chapman, Mark Hall of Casting Crowns and Andrew Peterson. Tickets are available at www.ticketnashville.com.

Source: NRLC News