Celebrating a Family for Every Child

It is an honor to serve as President and CEO of Wide Horizons For Children. A half-century of helping deeply vulnerable children survive and flourish is certainly a moment worth celebrating, but it’s also a call to rededicate ourselves to those without a voice. To those most in need.

As an adoptive parent myself and someone who has traveled extensively in the developing world, I know what’s at stake for children and families who find themselves in desperate need. It is a deeply lonely and terrifying place to be. And, more often than not, it is grinding poverty — the type we don’t see in America — that destabilizes families and results in the abandonment and orphaning of children.

For over five decades ensuring a vulnerable child has a stable family has been our North Star. From our beginnings as a feeding center for starving babies in Vietnam, to over 14,000 placements of children with families here in the U.S., to holistic Family Preservation work, Wide Horizons For Children has always recognized that vulnerable children face horrific futures without the love and security of a family. With the significant decline in intercountry adoption — down more than 95% since its peak in 2004 — we have doubled down on how to remain relevant and effective in a changing, and more hostile world. Today, we reach hundreds of thousands of children and families through programs that lift families out of poverty and give them the tools they need to forge a brighter future. This Family Preservation work is powerful and transformative.

During the past year, you’ve seen stories from across the decades of children joyously joining their families in the U.S. Of communities lifted up and children attending school for the first time … and graduating! You’ve seen mothers, utterly without hope, transforming their lives through the medical, social and economic support they need to provide for their families.

The way in which we ensure every child has a family has shifted and changed over the past half-century. But what hasn’t changed is our laser focus, dedication and the hopeful outcomes we witness every day.

As we look back over the past half-century, there are so many people to thank. People like you who have joined us in our mission to ensure a family for every child.

To all of our adoptive families who opened their hearts and homes to a child in need, thank you.

To all of our supporters and generous donors who partner with us to bring our mission to life around the world, we couldn’t do it without you.

To our dedicated staff and board members, you are the beating heart of this organization and advocates for children around the world.

So many thank-you’s. And so much more to accomplish as we take a deep breath and step into this next half-century.

We have to do even more. The children are counting on us.

With warm regards,

Janice Hoffman
CEO & President

If you’d like to help us continue our transformative work, please consider making a gift!