Adoptions From The Heart’s Find Their Footing 5k Goes Virtual in May 2020

A viral way for the nation to stay active and support a cause at home amid the COVID-19 crisis

Adoptions From The Heart (AFTH) is holding the 1^st Virtual Find Their Footing 5k as an alternative to the previously scheduled 8^th Annual Find Their Footing 5k run/walk event in an effort to decrease the spread of the COVID-19. The virtual run/walk 5k (3.1 miles) is taking place the weekend of Friday, May 1, 2020, through Sunday, May 3, 2020. Families throughout the country can run or walk 5k from home with the freedom to decide when and where to complete the 5k within the timeframe of the program. All proceeds will go to AFTH’s Expecting and Birth Parent Support Fund.

Runners and walkers interested in signing up for Adoptions From The Heart’s 1^st Virtual Find Their Footing 5k may do so by logging on to the official event website. Participants who sign up before the weekend of the virtual 5k will be charged $15. Everyone who registers in advance will receive a t-shirt and a medal. Participants who register the weekend of the 1^st Virtual Find Their Footing 5k will receive a medal.

Once runners and walkers complete the 5k there is a section on the website for all the participants to submit start and finish times. The nonprofit will mail a medal out to all who submitted start and finish times online. For children under 10, there is a $5 registration fee. All children under 10 who run and walk in the virtual 5k will receive a certificate and medal. AFTH encourages participants of all ages to share their run or walk on Instagram using the hashtag #RunWithYourHeart , and tagging Adoptions From The Heart’s Instagram account: @AdoptionsFromTheHeart .

The Law Offices of Deborah E. Spivack. will serve as the main sponsor for the 1^st Virtual Find Their Footing 5k. A firm that provides legal representation to individuals within the states of Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey seeking to start a family through adoption or assisted reproductive technology.

“It is important for me to support this event because its proceeds directly benefit expecting parents and birth parents. I am proud to contribute to AFTH’s outstanding services to this population [ expecting and birth parents] and families,” says Deborah Spivack.

The Expecting and Birth Parent Support Fund is primarily financed through donations to provide financial assistance to expecting and birth parents in times of need. An increase in monetary donations made to the fund means an increase in the number of men and women AFTH can help.

“This fund is designed to help birth parents who are struggling and could use some support, said Amanda Aliberti, AFTH adoptions counselor. “I have personally seen this fund provide direct/immediate assistance to a birthmother who had placed her daughter through AFTH a couple of years prior. She had called me one day, practically in tears as she was facing possible eviction from her apartment. Within a matter of 48 hours, the AFTH Expecting and Birth Parent Support Fund was able to immediately provide the funds to help pay her rent and put her back on the right path in her life. She was so grateful, not just for the money but for the emotional support that our agency provided her, even years after placement.”

About Adoptions From The Heart:

Founder and CEO Maxine Chalker established Adoptions From The Heart in 1985. Maxine, herself as an adoptee, wanted to give adoption a new face by breaking down the barriers and taking some of the mystery out of the adoption process. AFTH is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide a safe, loving home for children and offer comprehensive, high-quality services to adoptive families, birth parents, and children. The agency is licensed in PA, NJ, DE, CT, VA, and NY.