Central Cal FRUA Volunteers

Regional Chair:
Karen Dixon
Parent Education Meetings Coordinator:
Volunteer Needed
Secretary:
David Dixon
Membership:
Volunteer Needed
Treasurer:
Volunteer Needed
Social and Cultural Events:
Volunteer Needed
Parents' Night Out Coordinator - Bakersfield:
Volunteer Needed
Parents' Night Out Coordinator - Fresno:
Volunteer Needed
Parents' Night Out Coordinator - Central Coast:
Volunteer Needed
Mentor Program Coordinator:
Volunteer Needed

Helpful Links

	FRUA-NATIONAL
	FRUA-NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
	FRUA-SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
	UKRAINIAN CULTURAL CENTER OF LOS ANGELES
	HOUSE OF UKRAINE - SAN DIEGO
	ADOPTIVE FAMILIES MAGAZINE

Central California Chapter

WHO WE ARE... FRUA-Central California is one of 35 regional chapters of an international support network of families who have adopted or are interested in adoption from Eastern Europe. We help support the whole life experience of Eastern European orphan children and strengthen the families that are created through adoption.

Founded in 1994 by a group of parents in the Washington D.C. area, FRUA has grown to over 2,200 families, 35 regional chapters and contacts and nearly 100 professional members all working together to advocate, support, and celebrate international adoption.

FRUA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, all-volunteer organization governed by an elected national board.

FRUA MISSION STATEMENT:

It is the mission of FRUA to support the whole life experience of Eastern European orphan children and to strengthen the families that are created through adoption.

FRUA serves families with children from many countries including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia, and more!

FRUA Central California is trying to get launched as a viable chapter of the National FRUA organization. We cannot do this without interest and volunteers. If you have any interest in helping this chapter get off the ground, please contact Karen Dixon by clicking on the email link by her name on the left of this website. Currently, FRUA Central California has several open positions for volunteers. Here, we highlight just some of our needs...

Parent Education Meetings (PEM) Coordinator: It is our goal to have PEMs scheduled at least once per quarter. These meetings will ideally offer the opportunity for prospective adoptive parents to learn about Travel Tips, Attachment, Adopting Older Children, School Issues, and Accessing Special Education Services, to name a few.

In other FRUA chapters, PEMs provide an excellent informal setting to learn from experts and the experiences of other families, and to meet with other adoptive parents.

If you would like to help coordinate a Parent Educational Meeting, please contact Karen Dixon at karen.dixon@alumni.duke.edu. Thank you!

Parents Night Out Coordinator: One of the great benefits of local FRUA membership is the ability to get together with other families who have adopted from Eastern Europe. This position involves setting up a date and time at a local restaurant, for example, to meet with other local FRUA parents for fun, food, and conversation. What a great way to build relationships with others who truly understand the experiences of adoptive families, like yours!

If you would like to help coordinate a Parents' Night Out in your area for FRUA Central California, please contact Karen Dixon at karen.dixon@alumni.duke.edu. Thank you!

Membership Chairperson: Through our membership database, we can assist you in networking with other families in your geographical area. This confidential list is only available to FRUA members and can assist you in finding other families who have children of similar ages, connect you with a family who has traveled to a specific area to adopt, and much more. (Of course, as a FRUA member, you can always elect to remain unlisted and your privacy will always be respected.)

If you would like to volunteer as our Membership Coordinator, please contact Karen Dixon at karen.dixon@alumni.duke.edu. Thank you!

Mentor Program Coordinator: The purpose of the Mentor Program is to match pre-adoptive parents with post-adoptive parents who would coach, cheerlead, and mentor them through the adoption process. One the key aspects of this program is to give choices to both the sets of parents in selecting each other. "Chemistry", personality type, geography, age of child(ren), single or 2 parent homes are just some of the aspects of making a good match.

Are you a pre-adoptive parent? Do you have questions, concerns, fears? Then let us find you a mentor to help you through the process.

Are you a post-adoptive parent? We are looking for volunteer parents to be a Mentor. You've been through the process so you know how the pre-adoptive parents feel. Remember how scary it was? It is a great time to help someone else through the process. What do you get for this? A great sense of "giving back" to the adoption community and helping a child find a home. What is involved? Talking on the phone or via email to one pre-adoptive family at a time.

For more information, to find a mentor, or to volunteer to be a mentor, please email Karen Dixon at karen.dixon@alumni.duke.edu.