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Profiles: Presenting... YOU!


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Creative Memories has one; so does Close to My Heart called Studio J.

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It's not online but we bought a CD at Best Buy for scrapbooks. It was very easy and turned out really good. I think it was only around $25.00. Good Luck!!

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There's another thread on the forum about this. It's located under the Looking to Adopt section (the very top one). You can find it here: Profiles: Presenting...YOU!

There are also another few threads with similar topics:

Online Profiles for Abrazo's PIWs

Digital Profiles?

Hope this helps!

You'll also notice if you go back through the threads of the orientation groups before you, everyone has the same question! It's a lot of reading to do, but it's worthwhile to follow the stories from beginning to end for various reasons, but you'll learn a lot along the way, too! With each orientation group, someone throws out new ideas about creating profiles.

Have fun!

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There's another thread on the forum about this. It's located under the Looking to Adopt section (the very top one). You can find it here: Profiles: Presenting...YOU!

There are also another few threads with similar topics:

Online Profiles for Abrazo's PIWs

Digital Profiles?

Hope this helps!

You'll also notice if you go back through the threads of the orientation groups before you, everyone has the same question! It's a lot of reading to do, but it's worthwhile to follow the stories from beginning to end for various reasons, but you'll learn a lot along the way, too! With each orientation group, someone throws out new ideas about creating profiles.

Have fun!

Thanks everyone! This will definitely help!

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Update: Abrazo asks all families to send an initial supply of ten color copies to the agency, and thereafter, we simply call the closest QuikCopy to make us additional copies if we run out of profiles. Somedays, we send out multiple copies of your profile, other weeks, it may be none, just depending on the demand, so we cannot predict how soon each family may need more copies, nor do we have time to call each family to have them send reprints when the supply runs low, which is why the pickup and delivery service at QuikCopy is useful. However, for those who have access to a professional grade color copier and wish to send a larger initial supply of color copies in hopes of saving on the color copying costs on our end, feel free. (But remember, we need professional quality copies, and on heavier paper stock, please.) All copies are stamped with Abrazo's agency name and contact information, before distribution.

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Word of advice..when you finish your profile go to your local Kinkos, etc and ask them to print them (the 10 required). You can bring them on a jump drive or email it to them. I would ask them how they prefer it. It is a more expensive... BUT it comes out SOOOOO much better. We wasted money on trying to make color copies and they were not that great.

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We used Kinko's the first time and they did a great job. We went to Office Depot the 2nd time and used a coupon and they did a great job, too and it was about 40% cheaper. They have great card stock at both places and both places were very helpful.

It is worth searching the paper or the internet for copy coupons.

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We used Kinko's the first time and they did a great job. We went to Office Depot the 2nd time and used a coupon and they did a great job, too and it was about 40% cheaper. They have great card stock at both places and both places were very helpful.

It is worth searching the paper or the internet for copy coupons.

Agreed! We found a coupon when we did ours and loaded everything on a jump drive, saving each page as a separate .jpg at the very highest quality possible. Then we chose a heavier card stock and had them printed in the highest quality they'd offer. I wanted everything from the feel of them to the vibrancy of the colors to reflect on our personality!

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  • 1 month later...

Question...

Has anyone ever recorded a video and either provided a link in their profile or included a DVD? I know not all expectant parents would have the means to view it, but even if they went to their public library, they could take a look. Or if they're at the Abrazo offices or receive a visit from one of the 'Chicks... I have to wonder if maybe a simple "hello" where they could see things in motion, or a short tour of the house (and finished nursery?), any prospective siblings running around, etc. might set their hearts at ease a little bit? Maybe it's a glimpse that's a little more tangible than the few photos we can fit in profiles?

Pros? Cons?

We don't plan on "going around again" anytime in the immediate future, but I do keep in mind what photos we'd need for our next profile and try to keep an archive going. I take video of Oliver all the time, but we're not in them with him too often. Wondering if taking a plunge into a short video might be a good addition for the next time.

I'd especially love to hear birthparent thoughts on this, too (on everything, really). Would it have helped you?

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  • 1 year later...

We may have posted this somewhere previously, but it's helpful advice from a birthmom on adoptive parent profiles:

http://www.nurtureadopt.org/af/adoptionarticles/writingdbmletter.htm

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  • 2 months later...

When sending the 10 profiles, should we paperclip them, staple once at the top, or staple down the side to make a book? Is there an agency preference?

Thanks,

~matt and katie

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When sending the 10 profiles, should we paperclip them, staple once at the top, or staple down the side to make a book? Is there an agency preference?

Thanks,

~matt and katie

I believe the standard is staple on the upper left corner. You might also consider providing a digital version of your profile (PDF if you created it electronically or scanning it as a PDF if you hand-made it) to the family services coordinator just in case there's a mother who wants to receive profiles electronically before she can receive them in the mail. This happened to us once at the start of our journey.

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  • 9 months later...

I’ve had very positive responses to the design of both of the adoption profiles I’ve created for our family, and I remember feeling so very lost when we first started trying to create a profile and never felt like I found really useful information online or anywhere that gave me good direction to follow. I already understood that I needed to include in-focus pictures with nice close-ups and use a cohesive design theme of some kind, but I still wanted MORE information. So here I am, paying it forward by passing along a few things I learned through the process to share with anyone working on designing a profile and looking for some guidelines beyond the bare-bones basics.


1. More pictures, less words. This is really quite important, so I’ll say it again--more pictures, less words! In our first profile, I thought I did this concept fairly well, but I still found that birthmothers who talked to us on the phone had actually read none of the words (or at least totally missed major things like what state we live in (written on the front page, right below our names) or what my profession was(mentioned several times throughout the profile)) and I realized that if a picture is worth a thousand words, it might be worth it to think about what it is that you want to share about yourselves and then figure out if there is a way to express that in a photo instead of in words. Do you like to attend live sporting events? Take a picture of yourselves at the game. Is your favorite food ice cream? Take a picture of yourself enjoying a cone of your favorite flavor.


2. Emphasize the things that make you unique. I once read a story written by a birthmother who looked through the 300 profiles she’d been given by the agency (!) and found that EVERYONE had a dog, lived in surburbia, were devout Christians and loved to go camping and bake cookies. How could she possibly choose between 300 couples that all seemed the same? Expectant mothers considering placement are often forced to comb through the photos (see #1 above) looking for some small detail that speaks to them. Go beyond listing superficial details and make it easier for them to see what makes you unique. Do you love motorcycles? Include a picture of yourself on your Harley. Do you like to eat pickles on your peanut butter sandwiches? Include a picture of that (gross!) food. Who knows? Maybe she has the same unique likes and dislikes as you and will feel a connection to you because of that!


3. Be specific. Let’s say that you do, in fact, love to bake cookies. Rather than just saying, “I love baking cookies!” why not tell a bit more of a story and say, “My chocolate crinkle cookies are famous around town. Everyone loves them!” or “We bake 700 Snickerdoodles every year for Halloween.” (or.. include a tantalizing photo of your chocolate crinkle cookies or Snickerdoodles. See #1 above.) Just make sure that your “story” is told in as few words as possible (see #1…. well, you get the idea).


4. Include family traditions. What makes your family unique? Do you love to go caroling at Christmas every year? Do you have movie and popcorn night every Thursday? Do you go skinny-dipping on New Year’s Eve? Do you have a funny nickname for toes (my family calls them “tooties”)? Traditions, whether annual or more frequent, formal or silly, are one of the things that gives our families their unique “flavor” and can give a quick snapshot of what a birthparent can expect their child to grow up doing with their adopting family. And really, that’s what a birthmother wants to learn--what will her child’s life be like if they grow up in your household? Sharing those traditions helps them to feel like they “know” you better before they even speak with you.


5. Include a few captions on your photos. If your picture isn’t self-explanatory, add a (short!) caption to explain it. Readers are more likely to read a short caption than a paragraph explaining a photo, so this tool can be very effective. But don’t put a caption on EVERY photo, just the ones that need a bit more information (e.g. extended family members, that weird picture of a peanut butter and pickle sandwich…)

If you'd like to see our second profile, it's online here: http://issuu.com/carissaabc/docs/christner_profile

Our first profile is here

[Okay, I just now did a search online and found a few articles that are helpful and say a few of the same things I did above. My favorite is here. Also, check out this cool adoption photoshoot--how great would this be for your back page?]

By the way... all of this being said, our daughter’s birthmother told me that she chose us because we were already parenting a child. Not because of any of the carefully crafted words or pictures we included on our profile, but because we had a son. So… you just never know!

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Great advice Carissa! You are right you never know what it will be that attracts someone to your profile.

Garrett's birthmom loved that we travelled and that Disney was our favorite spot. She loved that she could picture her child in our pictures. She called us the "Disney Family".

Madelyn's birthmom also placed with us because we were parenting a child already and that because it was a son she just knew we needed a daughter.

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Wonderful advice!

We were concerned that since Kevin was not from here (he's a naturalized citizen), that a birth family might not choose us. Yes, a weird thing to be concerned about but we were.

When we got a chance to meet M-I, she told us one of the reasons she chose us was because Kevin was not from here. She loved the pictures from the UK and she thought it would be wonderful if Alexander would get a chance to travel abroad.

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Carissa, thanks for sharing. When I was working on our profile I had so much trouble. Elizabeth and the rest of the crew worked so hard with me. I couldn't find anything online that helped. This will help so many people going forward.

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Good reminders that the profiles are important but don't stress too much about them because you never know what will draw an expectant mother to yours. With Landon's birthmom she told us that she liked that we played volleyball together. We had put a pic of our volleyball team in there just so that we didn't have all pictures of just the two of us.

Good luck to all those working on profiles and remember you can request an Elite Guide to help you throughout the process, including reviewing your profile if you'd like.

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I was drawn to the first couple I chose because of her profession and the fact that my son would grow up to be bilingual. And she loves to bake!

There wasn't much in particular that drew me to Tim and Leslie from their profile. I just felt a bond with them from the moment I met them at orientation. However, I do like that they appreciate ice cream and Sergio liked that they are into soccer. And it was a good match.

I think, as a birth mother, Carissa gives fantastic advice! We look through so many profiles and have to narrow it down. Put some pictures that jump out at us. I don't mean this in a bad way, but sometimes the words start to blend together and you forget which family enjoys what activity. Don't try to appeal to expectant mothers. What I mean by that is don't make it with the mindset of "What will get us picked?". That's slightly insulting (to me). The right woman will pick you for who you are, not who she wants you to be. So be yourselves and have fun. We want to know that our child will have a fun, good life filled with love and laughter. We need to know that we are welcome in your lives! There is so much I could say about the phrasing! Just be yourself. You won't miss your baby :)

If anyone has questions or would like suggestions from a birth mom's perspective, I would be more than happy to help!

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Though I am not a birthmom, I do want to throw in my two cents for what it's worth....I know each expectant mom/parent(s) have different points of interest, I think because of this it is difficult to try and get the "perfect profile"... My daughter's favorite room in the house to look at was the nursery.. And we both wanted to know who was going to surround her precious child, immediate and extended family, including pets who are part of a family... So touching on Carissa's #4 family traditions is wonderful because they do include that family environment the/their child will be exposed to. I agree with Ellen, be yourselves, not whom you want the EXPECTANT PARENT to think you are to just look good on paper.

Wishing all of you the best.

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Thank you for your "two cents", Mari and Ellen! Hearing feedback from people who've been on the BP side of this type of information exchange is absolutely priceless! In fact, I think it was both of you (since I was incredibly lucky enough to meet both of you during our first orientation meeting--what an amazing BP panel that was!) who first instilled the "be yourSELF" motto in me and for that I'll be forever grateful. Our son's birthmother told us that she'd chosen us because we "looked nice...and a little bit goofy" which was such an apt description that I knew I'd done something right when putting together our profile. Thanks for pushing me in the right direction even way back then! :)

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Carissa, wow! I never realized I had such a big impact on you! I was also unaware that I had "drilled in" being yourself, even from my first orientation. I think that's information that should be widespread! The forum is so amazing because it's so rare that all 3 aspects of the triad help each other at Abrazo! I've learned so much from AP's side and I value it so much. It has helped me try do nothing but my best in many aspects of life, but especially my placements. It definitely hasn't always been easy, but I'm now starting to appreciate that it has ALWAYS been worth it.

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