Reporting Gigi Barnett
Popular Entertainment Photo Galleries
Guinness World Records
Best Celebrity Baby Bumps
The Biggest Nerds In Pop Culture
Celeb Hotties With Great Lips
Stars With Tax ProblemsBALTIMORE (WJZ) — The wait is over for hundreds of Baltimore families looking to adopt. This weekend marks the 10th annual National Adoption Day.
Gigi Barnett was there as dozens of parents and children made it official.
On Saturday, dozens of children received new parents, new homes and new last names at the Circuit Court for Baltimore City.
Some parents like Ellena Byrd knew Adoption Day would come when she became a foster mother to 22-month-old Journey.
“You don’t take them in expecting them to stay. It’s supposed to be a temporary situation, but you do fall in love,” Byrd said.
Nationwide, more than 100,000 children are in foster care awaiting good families. And every year, National Adoption Day rolls around on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. There’s a reason for that.
“People start thinking about how important family is and how important family is to these children in need,” said Baltimore Adoption Day Chair Erika Slater.
“I’ve always wanted nine children. Why? I don’t know,” said Sharon Buie.
This weekend, Buie has two more kids — 5-year-old Dejuan and 2-year-old Brianna. They bring her brood up to five.
“I’m overjoyed because they’re no longer in the system. They’re our family,” Buie said.
More than 35,000 children nationwide have found new families through the National Adoption Day project since it started 10 years ago.
Baltimore has more than 3,000 children in the foster care system. Many of them are teens.
