Press Release

October 4, 2011
CARDIN PRESENTS WASHINGTON COUNTY COUPLE WITH ANGELS IN ADOPTION AWARD

angels adoption

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) today presented Lisa and Charles Gerringer of Hagerstown, MD with this year’s Congressional Angels in Adoption Award.  The Senator nominated the Gerringers for the award because they “opened their hearts” to children who needed a home and adopted four children from the Maryland Foster Care Program. 

“The Gerringers have the compassion and generosity that allowed them to selflessly reach out to provide a permanent home to children who desperately needed a family’s love and support,” said Senator Cardin.   “They opened up their home and their hearts first by becoming foster parents and then by adopting four of those children to become part of their family. They are an inspiration to all of us who want to make a difference.”

 

After having three biological children, the Gerringers joined the Maryland Foster Care Program with the intention of adopting children.  Neither race, nor disability, nor trauma has prevented the Gerringers from parenting a child.  Ultimately, they adopted four of their many foster children. 

In addition to raising seven children, the Gerringers have become a FACT (Family Assistance through Community Teamwork) family and provide mentoring and life skills training for families in need.  Lisa is a speaker for the Washington County Department of Social Services PRIDE training program for foster and adoptive parents. 

The Congressional Angels in Adoption program is sponsored by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI), which is a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to raising congressional and public awareness about the tens of thousands of foster children in this country and the millions of orphans around the world in need of permanent, safe, and loving homes.  Senator Cardin is a member of the CCAI’s Advisory Board. The Angels in Adoption program was created in 1999 to raise public awareness of the many different ways that committed individuals can help children and families through adoption.   

 

This year’s nominees will be honored at a national ceremony in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 5 sponsored by CCAI.

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