Am I able to choose the child or young adult I will be matched with?
As of August 2023, we have posted profiles of the young adults who are waiting to be matched with an Encourager! Please check out more information at the following link.
No. None of the children/youth/young adults who participate in the Youth Encouragement Program are available for adoption. We have specifically partnered with organizations who seek to support children/youth who cannot be adopted or try and find ways for family reunification/involve birth family in the lives of the children/youth.
Are any of these children available for adoption?
Will I receive a response from my new friend?
It is our intention that you and your new friend will have continued correspondence. However, mail processing and translation times vary, so please be patient as you await a response. Your friend may not be able to respond to every letter.
Other options of this program—sending one-time encouragement or holiday cards, will not receive a response back from youth at partnering institutions.
How often should I write my friend?
We recommend writing your friend anywhere from quarterly to monthly. In situations where email communication is available, more frequent communication may be possible.
All gifts will need to be pre-approved before sending. If you wish to send a gift, please let us know your gift ideas and we will vet them with the partnering organization.
What gifts can I send to my friend?
I am traveling to the country where my friend lives, can I visit?
It has always been our hope that the Youth Encouragement Program will build lasting friendships. In some cases, supervised in-person visits may be possible. If you wish to visit, please let us know so we may inquire with the partnering organization.
Why should I, as an adoptee, participate in this program?
As an adoptee-led organization, we recognize that our stories as adoptees inevitably include a period of separation from our birth families, and often our home countries and birth cultures.
The Youth Encouragement Program allows interested adoptees, and the broader community, to connect with youth who have been separated from their birth families but have experienced group-home or institutional care within their home countries and birth cultures.
We hope for pen pal friendships to be edifying for both the encourager and the youth abroad, as we learn from one another and develop lasting, uplifting relationships.
Do you have additional questions? Please contact Youth Encouragement Program Director, Amanda, via email: Amanda@adopteebridge.org