Welcome to After Adoption Yorkshire



	Judith Calvert Everyone at After Adoption Yorkshire is saddened to hear of the death of Judith; Judith has been an integral part of AAY since its conception 15 years ago. She has worked as an employee; a sessional worker and a volunteer; in whatever capacity she has always given more than was asked to the organisation. She will be greatly missed both as colleague and friend; she was always there for everyone she met. Jean Jackson, on behalf of everyone at After Adoption Yorkshire **************************************************************** It is with great sadness that we announce the death from cancer of Judith Calvert on Saturday 20 th November. Judith was an adoption support worker with After Adoption Yorkshire for many years and was one of the founding staff team in the early days of UK DonorLink. Her warmth, compassion, wisdom and commitment were second to none and I know that her value was felt deeply by those she worked with both as clients and as colleagues. I count myself lucky to have been able to call Judith a friend as well as a colleague – she will be greatly missed. Marilyn Crawshaw Chair of UK Donor Link and Trustee for After Adoption Yorkshire
	WHARF/AIRE ADOPTERS SUPPORT GROUP This is a new group offering support to adoptive parents whose children are aged 10+ years. The meetings are monthly beginning on: 10th November 2009 from 7.30pm - 9.00pm Venue: Keighley Voluntary Services 135 Skipton Road , Keighley (entrance at the back on Spring Gardens Lane ) Tel: 01535 665258 For further information contact: Corinne - 01535 653 056 Molly - 01535 609 603 Jean - 0113 2786 487 ********************************************************* Birth Parent Service - Drop In Sessions - Hull Central Library Birth parents whose children have been adopted are being encouraged to drop in to a friendly and informal meeting held at the central library. Organised by Hull Adoption and the independent charity After Adoption Yorkshire, birth parents can find support and friendly advice at these meetings. The meetings offer: An opportunity for support around adoption A chance to talk about the impact of the adoption An informal place to meet other people with the same experiences Specialised support and information A Hull Adoption spokesperson said "These drop in sessions are a friendly and non-judgement place to talk about the impact of adoption. Some people will want practical information about adoption and others will want to talk about their experience of adoption. We would urge any birth parents who feel they would benefit from this specialised service to come along and meet us". The drop in meetings are held every fortnight at the Floor 2 meeting room at Hull Central Library with refreshments. Thursday 1-4pm Hull Central Library Refreshments provided ****************************************************** After Adoption Yorkshire is a seeking a patron. Ideally, we are looking for someone who is reasonably well known, with a link to adoption or Yorkshire (or even both!), who could act as a “figurehead” for us. We would not ask a great deal of their time but it is important that they are generally supportive of our work. We are inviting both suggestions of suitable people that we could contact and practical help in getting in touch with them. We understand that many celebrities and their agents receive hundreds of similar letters from charities every year. It is our hope that someone reading this can help us to make a more targeted and sensitive approach. If you think that you may be help us in any way, please contact barbara.stewart@aay.org.uk or contact 0113 278 6487**.
	Call our AAY Advice Line on 0113 230 2100 or Email us: info@aay.org.uk