Children, some of whom have disabilities, participated in the ?Fashion for Frankie? fashion show Saturday at The Grace Place in Enterprise. Proceeds from the fundraiser benefit the Holmes-Smith family?s expenses to adopt a special needs child from Bulgaria.
By:
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Ledger Correspondent
Published: May 15, 2012
Updated: May 15, 2012 - 1:02 PM
Marla Holmes-Smith?s eyes filled with tears as she spoke about a child far away who?s waiting for his forever home, in her home.
?I saw his picture and fell in love, love at first sight,? she said.
Holmes-Smith and her husband, Charles, live in Enterprise and have 5-year-old twins, Evelyn and Freddie.? The child they?re adopting fromBulgaria, Frankie, is also nearly 5 and, like their son Freddie, has Down Syndrome. They hope to bring Frankie home in early 2013 after the adoption process is completed.
As part of that effort, the In His Image support group for parents of children and grown children with disabilities held a fashion show fundraiser called ?Fashion for Frankie? Saturday at The Grace Place church, where the support group is based.
About 20 children, some of them with disabilities, participated in the show, which included a silent auction that helped raise money for the family?s adoption expenses. The fundraiser collected $1,165.
Marla first learned about Frankie and considering adopting him through Ozark resident Shelley Bedford, who has eight children, five of them with Down Syndrome. Bedford is a former special education teacher who worked with an Atlanta-based nonprofit special needs adoption ministry called Reece?s Rainbow to facilitate her adoptions.
Since 2007, she has welcomed one child from the Ukraine, one from Serbia and three from Bulgaria into her home. She also helps the organization with temporary foster care and helps spread the word about their mission to help special needs orphans find loving families.
In other countries, Bedford explained, children with disabilities are often institutionalized and are malnourished or die at a young age without proper medical care.
?To say that God broke our hearts for orphans would probably be an understatement,? she said.
Adoptions of this kind can cost a minimum $20,000, Bedford said, but they can be accomplished with church and community support. Alternatively, she said, there are other ways to help orphans here and abroad by donating money or supplies to reputable charities, or becoming certified for foster care, respite foster care or emergency placement through the Alabama Department of Human Resources.
Marla said her son Freddie has shown her the meaning of unconditional love, which she also hopes to share with Frankie.
?He?s been such a blessing in our lives,? she said. ?He?s changed our hearts.?
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