a true super hero

it all started back in february. smsmh was reading an article about a woman in new mexico that had started an organization called "the heart gallery". basically, the organization worked with local social services to highlight kids that had been stuck in foster care for long periods of time. typically, the profiles on the kids contained photos that looked more like mug shots. diane granito, the gal from new mexico, had come up with the idea to have professional photographers donate their time to take photos of the kids that would better showcase their personalities. in addition, these photos would be put on display, first, in hopes of providing a greater opportunity of having the kids adopted, and second, to bring a higher awareness to the huge number of kids stuck in long term foster care.

now, the kids we're talking about aren't the cute infants that most folks think of when they think adoption. the desire for most adoptive parents is to find that sweet little baby that will know only them as their parents. the kids stuck in long term foster care are anything but that. they are kids that have know multiple rejections, abuse, drug and alcohol exposure and often times, posses physical or mental disabilities. these are kids that are older, come with lots of baggage, and need serious commitment from the adoptive family to have a successful placement.

so, as smsmh read through the article, her heart strings were pulled and she immediately got in contact with diane. a short while later, smsmh was provided with the names and email addresses of other people in our area that had expressed an interest in getting involved in the organization. smsmh pushed for a meeting and soon the orange county, ca chapter of the heart gallery was born. the chapter began pushing for a november premiere date and photographers and locations were organized. somewhere along the process, the gal that had stepped up to run the chapter, backed out, leaving the possibility of even having an opening for the gallery in question. smsmh recognized that all this hard work, the planning, photographing, etc, couldn't go to waste and that these kids deserved to have the remaining volunteers kick in and finish what they'd started.

smsmh took over the coordination of running the chapter and within no time, had everyone back on board and things humming right along. flash forward to last night and at 3:30pm, i walked into the marconi automotive museum. the place was teaming with volunteers setting up beautiful photographs, setting tables, placing information packets, and all the photographed kids, oohing and ahing over their pictures. and in the middle of it all was smsmh, clear headed, poised and amazing in her role. it was amazing to see people taking their cue from her, looking to her for guidance and watching her handle everything in stride.

the event itself, basically a premiere of the gallery with open invitation to prospective adoptive parents, friends and family, supporters and the local population, kicked off at 6pm. the segment of the local community that showed up was quite impressive. there were head honchos from social services and casa (court appointed special advocates), couples that had successfully adopted kids, adults that had been adopted, folks interested in adoption, friends and family and people just wanting to support the organization. the turnout was huge and exciting. the event went off without a hitch, with dick marconi and the head of social services speaking to the crowd. people hung around long after the event was over talking and looking at the photos. smsmh even heard that the higher-ups from casa and social services were blow away by the event, since they'd never had anything like this before. it was fantastic confirmation for smsmh and all the volunteers.

the gallery now heads off to several locations over the next few months for viewing. november it's at the la habra children's museum, december at rock harbor church in costa mesa, january at the sarah bain gallery in fullerton and february at the bowers museum. it's awesome that the gallery is going to be hosted at such high profile locations, and have the ability to bring awareness to the issues that these kids face.

but the coolest thing (selfishly, i admit) was watching smsmh over the last few months. it has been amazing to watch this woman passionately champion this cause, working tirelessly for this organization, the event and these kids. she has been a beacon for the oc chapter, charting them through rough water and seeing them safely to their destination. last night i was floored, watching her work and seeing her masterfully pull off the event. she was truly in her element. i have never been more proud to call smsmh my wife.

thank you, supermodelsexymommahead, for all that you do.