By Denice Grugle

I was two when my parents adopted my older sister. Her name is Leslie and I always looked up to her. She knew how to dance, she curled my hair (daily), we listened to music together and she helped out with dishes and laundry. She was my cheerleader. She called me “Pooh” and when she was mad she added a “p” to the end. On rainy nights she’d pull me into be with her. I think she was scared, but she never told me. She married when I was seven, so our time together was short. She is eleven years older than me, but now I’m not allowed to tell you how old I am.

I can’t remember all of our experiences, but one strong memory I have is her singing the Beatle’s “Eleanor Rigby”. (“This is for all the lonely people…”) I have talked about homeless children so much that now my 11-year-old daughter and 10–year–old niece have discussed the ages of the children they will adopt.

Parade Magazine ran an article in the January 2005 issue about the Heart Gallery that had just started in New Mexico. I read only two lines before I started making plans to create the East Texas Heart Gallery.  I realized I had been trained my whole life for this. I could design a website, publish a magazine, manipulate photos, write children’s biographies, write press releases and articles, I knew artists and photographers and I had a strong desire to help lonely children. I had the skills necessary to create and market the Heart Gallery effectively. Divine guidance was clearly the reason for this opportunity to serve.

I first thought of Randy Phillips Photography, “they will be my first volunteers.” I ran into Randy at the gas station and gave him the article – he was excited, and we were in on the way. Within a month we photographed five children and I made a website to share their amazing smiles with the public. As sweet and talented as the Phillips are, I realized we’d better include other artists. We had sixty kids to get adopted right from the start and I could not ask that much work of any volunteers.

The Heart Gallery is a program designed to foster the adoption of older children by enlisting the help of local artists to photograph, draw or paint these children – allowing them to show their personality and spirit.

There are more than 360,000 children available for adoption right now. More than 19,000 children “age-out” of the system without ever finding a “forever” family. These hard to place children are generally over eight-years-old, or in a minority or sibling group. The Heart Gallery is changing those numbers. East Texas has such unique geographic dynamics that only a traveling art show would work.  We are raising awareness of the need for adoptive families in your town through creative portraits and artistic creations of the children looking for homes.

When I started looking for adoptive homes for hard to place children I found that there were quite a few myths to dispel. It is not expensive, hard or time consuming to adopt a child. I can take approximately nine months. An older child is appreciative and eager to find a “forever” family. They can be a part of your family at any age, and babies do not have the monopoly on cute and rewarding.

I am a volunteer. I believe every child has a perfect family somewhere in this world. My job, as I see it, is to provide details of the conversations I have had with and about the children who are available for & want to be adopted.  I take this responsibility very seriously. Because of my "perfect family" belief, I feel that telling it as I see it is the only way. There will be no sugar coating or buttering up the readers. 

Every child is special and deserves a mommy and daddy. 

Please let me know if there is anything you think would help. easttexasheartgallery@yahoo.com