Feb 23, 2008 9:45 pm US/Eastern
Miami Heart Gallery: "Have A Heart-Adopt A Child"
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
There is no greater love than the love between a parent and child. That's the message "The Children's Trust" wants to spread as it spearheads an initiative promoting adoption in Miami-Dade County called the Miami Heart Gallery.
The Miami Heart Gallery is a museum quality traveling exhibit featuring portraits of children that are available for adoption and photographed by some of the world's top photographers. Biographies of the children accompany each photograph to give viewers a glimpse of their inner spirit.
Based on a national model of other Heart Galleries in cities across the United States, the Miami Heart Gallery captured the unique personality of more than 70 children through portraits taken at some of Miami's most spectacular locations.
The photo shoots took place on Saturday, Feb. 16th and 23rd at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.
The renowned photographers are donating their time to this worthwhile project. Even noted photographer Nigel Barker will flew in from New York. Nigel is best known as one of the judges and celebrity photographers on the hit show, "America's Next Top Model" with super model Tyra Banks.
"It is exciting to see how many volunteers, from photographers and hair stylists to printers and so many others, come together to donate their time, expertise and resources to a project that will go a long way towards finding loving parents for so many children," said Modesto E. Abety, President and CEO of The Children's Trust.
The Miami Heart Gallery exhibit will launch in June and will subsequently travel throughout Miami-Dade County.
According to the state of Florida, more than 2,750 foster children are eligible for adoption in Florida and more than 500 in Miami-Dade, most of whom have been removed from their biological parents because of abuse or neglect.
On average, 41 percent of those waiting for adoption in Florida remain on waiting lists for two years and 22 percent have been waiting for up to three years and 37 percent wait longer than three years.
For this reason, The Children's Trust is working with Our Kids, the private agency responsible for foster care and adoption in Miami-Dade County and the Florida Keys.
Anyone interested in learning more about adopting a foster child should call The Children's Trust Helpline at 211.
Since its inception in New Mexico in 2001, Heart Gallery has grown to more than 80 cities and has provided hundreds of children with families.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
