Our Purpose
Global Adoption Foundation's (GAF) purpose and primary goal is to make adoption affordable for families who don’t have the finances to do so themselves.
As stated in our mission statement, this is possible by creating a community of people that advocate and monetarily support adoption.
We believe that every child should have the chance to be joined with its forever family, and receive the love that comes from this environment.
History Of the Organization: From Founder Nancy Dubios
Global Adoption Foundation (GAF) was formally known as Operation Starfish, and here's a brief story on how it began from the founder Nancy Dubios, who is also a member of our board.
Why It Started
In 1997 we traveled to Russia to bring home our fourteen month old daughter, Nina. I will never forget entering the antiquated, Children’s House Number Two which housed nearly one hundred orphans. This facility which was located in the industrial city of Magnitogorsk managed to feed clothe and house these children until they turned three at which time they were moved to a facility for older children.
We were taken through the home and shown the rooms where the children ate, slept and played. The little ones were dressed in drab colorless clothing. As we entered their dayroom they followed us with their large old-looking eyes. We were so happy to be taking Nina home but we felt sad that not all these children would be fortunate to find a forever family.
Once we were back in the USA we met many people who were interested in our adoption story. Some were people who themselves wanted to adopt. Others were just curious or interested. Often we heard people say they would like to adopt but could never afford the expense. When I would hear this I would be haunted by the faces of the little ones left behind in the orphanage. It just did not seem right that these children might never have a family of their own just because of a lack of money. The desire to help these children became the catalyst to creating Operation Starfish.
Our goal from the outset was to raise money to help children who might grow up never knowing the love of a forever family by helping fund adoptions for those who had the desire to adopt but could not afford the entire expense on their own. In 2002 we celebrated when we received our official 501c3 status and became the non-profit charity we called Operation Starfish.
Personal Story From the Director: Deidre Weeks
Where do I begin…… I was married at the age of 19 to my high school sweet heart. We started our family right away and by the time I was 28 years old we had 4 biological sons. Life was very busy being a young mom. We always talked about expanding our family through adoption since I could no longer have biological children due to medical issues with the pregnancies. But somehow the longing to adopt got placed on the back burner. I give thanks to God that He kept it alive and when His timing was right it came to the forefront of our hearts again. From that place it became a reality by the time our youngest son was 11 years old. As we researched about adoption, our hearts were drawn to the country of China. We found ourselves falling in love with the people and the country. We knew that God was leading us to adopt from China. There was only one thing that we knew we had to overcome and that was the financial aspect. Adoption whether it is domestic or foreign is very, very costly. God is so faithful and He cares so much for the orphans and the widows. We knew in our hearts, as we trusted in Him, He would supply all we needed, and He did!!!
Two scriptures that spoke strong to us as we walked this out were:
Isaiah 1: 17 and Proverbs 3: 5 & 6
Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
We now have 7 beautiful children!!! We have adopted three girls from China three separate times. Our first adoption took place in 2003. The second in 2005 and the third adoption, which was special needs, was in 2010. Each was an amazing process!!! We saw first hand miracle after miracle of Gods provision to meet the financial expense for each adoption. Global Adoption Foundation, previously named Operation Starfish, played a huge roll in helping our family. Without Nancy Dubios passion and commitment to adoption, our adoption process would not have been possible. I gladly accepted and assumed the role as Executive Director of this non-profit organization, Global Adoption Foundation in January 2011, from the Founder, Nancy Dubois. Our passion for adoption led my husband and I to this decision!
Our family is grateful and we want to pay it forward to help others experience the joy of adoption and alleviate the burden of the expense that adoption can bring. We believe that it is God’s command to take care of the orphans and the widows. How we each walk this out in our lives is different. We may not all be called to go and adopt a child but we can help support those who are willing to. I personally have experienced both ways of growing a family and they both are extremely rewarding. I hope that my story helps those that read it. Whether you are in the process of an adoption, or if you are just looking to donate to the cause, or get involved with your time and resources, then my story was so worth sharing!
Committed,
Deidre Weeks
Executive director,
Global Adoption Foundation
As stated in our mission statement, this is possible by creating a community of people that advocate and monetarily support adoption.
We believe that every child should have the chance to be joined with its forever family, and receive the love that comes from this environment.
History Of the Organization: From Founder Nancy Dubios
Global Adoption Foundation (GAF) was formally known as Operation Starfish, and here's a brief story on how it began from the founder Nancy Dubios, who is also a member of our board.
Why It Started
In 1997 we traveled to Russia to bring home our fourteen month old daughter, Nina. I will never forget entering the antiquated, Children’s House Number Two which housed nearly one hundred orphans. This facility which was located in the industrial city of Magnitogorsk managed to feed clothe and house these children until they turned three at which time they were moved to a facility for older children.
We were taken through the home and shown the rooms where the children ate, slept and played. The little ones were dressed in drab colorless clothing. As we entered their dayroom they followed us with their large old-looking eyes. We were so happy to be taking Nina home but we felt sad that not all these children would be fortunate to find a forever family.
Once we were back in the USA we met many people who were interested in our adoption story. Some were people who themselves wanted to adopt. Others were just curious or interested. Often we heard people say they would like to adopt but could never afford the expense. When I would hear this I would be haunted by the faces of the little ones left behind in the orphanage. It just did not seem right that these children might never have a family of their own just because of a lack of money. The desire to help these children became the catalyst to creating Operation Starfish.
Our goal from the outset was to raise money to help children who might grow up never knowing the love of a forever family by helping fund adoptions for those who had the desire to adopt but could not afford the entire expense on their own. In 2002 we celebrated when we received our official 501c3 status and became the non-profit charity we called Operation Starfish.
Personal Story From the Director: Deidre Weeks
Where do I begin…… I was married at the age of 19 to my high school sweet heart. We started our family right away and by the time I was 28 years old we had 4 biological sons. Life was very busy being a young mom. We always talked about expanding our family through adoption since I could no longer have biological children due to medical issues with the pregnancies. But somehow the longing to adopt got placed on the back burner. I give thanks to God that He kept it alive and when His timing was right it came to the forefront of our hearts again. From that place it became a reality by the time our youngest son was 11 years old. As we researched about adoption, our hearts were drawn to the country of China. We found ourselves falling in love with the people and the country. We knew that God was leading us to adopt from China. There was only one thing that we knew we had to overcome and that was the financial aspect. Adoption whether it is domestic or foreign is very, very costly. God is so faithful and He cares so much for the orphans and the widows. We knew in our hearts, as we trusted in Him, He would supply all we needed, and He did!!!
Two scriptures that spoke strong to us as we walked this out were:
Isaiah 1: 17 and Proverbs 3: 5 & 6
Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
We now have 7 beautiful children!!! We have adopted three girls from China three separate times. Our first adoption took place in 2003. The second in 2005 and the third adoption, which was special needs, was in 2010. Each was an amazing process!!! We saw first hand miracle after miracle of Gods provision to meet the financial expense for each adoption. Global Adoption Foundation, previously named Operation Starfish, played a huge roll in helping our family. Without Nancy Dubios passion and commitment to adoption, our adoption process would not have been possible. I gladly accepted and assumed the role as Executive Director of this non-profit organization, Global Adoption Foundation in January 2011, from the Founder, Nancy Dubois. Our passion for adoption led my husband and I to this decision!
Our family is grateful and we want to pay it forward to help others experience the joy of adoption and alleviate the burden of the expense that adoption can bring. We believe that it is God’s command to take care of the orphans and the widows. How we each walk this out in our lives is different. We may not all be called to go and adopt a child but we can help support those who are willing to. I personally have experienced both ways of growing a family and they both are extremely rewarding. I hope that my story helps those that read it. Whether you are in the process of an adoption, or if you are just looking to donate to the cause, or get involved with your time and resources, then my story was so worth sharing!
Committed,
Deidre Weeks
Executive director,
Global Adoption Foundation
Global Adoption Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit organization
