Professional Portraits Hoped to Boost Adoptions
(Cazenovia, Madison County, NY – March 2013) The Heart Gallery of Central New York, a statewide initiative supported by the state Office of Child and Family Services, is an effort undertaken by professional photographers who take portraits of children from around the state who are freed for adoption.
The photos are then shown in various public venues. Participation is voluntary on the children’s part, and the gallery is another venue in which a possible match for an adoptive family can occur. The portrait sittings and portraits are provided free by the photographers who volunteer their time, and the children get a copy of their portrait to keep.
The gallery will be hosted at the Cazenovia College Library on Lincklaen Street in the village from March 22 through April 3. The gallery with be on view in the main lobby of the library during regular library hours, Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to midnight, Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 2 to 10 p.m.
Organizers ask the public to take some time out of their busy schedules to stop in to take a look and be pleasantly surprised at what they find and learn.
The Professional Photographer’s Society of Central New York and the state Office of Children and Family Services-Syracuse Regional Office have partnered to create a portrait exhibit of children in the foster care system who are waiting to be adopted.
The photographers include members of PPSCNY and private photographers who continually donate their time and talents to create these unique portraits.
The Heart Gallery hopes to find forever families for these children. The exhibit also hopes to raise awareness around the ongoing need for foster and adoptive families here in the Central New York region and across the state. The Central New York region encompasses Broome, Cayuga, Chenango, Cortland, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, Oswego, St. Lawrence, Tompkins and Tioga counties.
For more information on adoption, visit www.ocfs.state.ny.us.