Heart Gallery of Tampa Bay Overview
The fourth annual Heart Gallery of Tampa Bay, a
collaborative effort between the Children's Board of Hillsborough County and
Hillsborough Kids, Inc., seeks to bring our community closer to the faces and
voices of children waiting for a "forever" family.
The community was invited to experience the
nation's first sight and sound Heart Gallery exhibit featuring Tampa Bay's
foster children seeking adoption, Friday, February 16, 2007 - to coincide with
Valentine's Day. The Heart Gallery of Tampa Bay is the first of its kind to
offer audio messages from waiting children and photo cards with
biographies for every child that attendees may take home with them.
The Heart Gallery is changing lives every day by
giving a voice to America's forgotten children. The gallery has demonstrated
unprecedented success in finding adoptive homes for many foster children in our
community.
The Heart Gallery serves not only to increase the
number of adoptive families but also to heighten awareness of the hundreds of
children needing homes in the Tampa area. All of the professional photographers
exhibited in the gallery volunteered their time to make the project a reality.
The photographs don't just show happy faces, the expressions captured are
wistful, mischievous, sweet, thoughtful and curious - all the emotions a child
feels.
I. Volunteer
Photographers/Photographers' Reception
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We attended our local photographer association meeting, Tampa Area Professional
Photographers Association, and presented the Heart Gallery project to the
members. We asked photographers to volunteer their time to take photos of
at least one child, and more than 50 volunteered on the spot. Each photo
was credited with the photographer's name when used in our marketing materials
or other public relations.
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This year, a special student photographer piece was added to the exhibit.
About 10 aspiring photographers from Blake High School in Tampa participated.
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Photographers were given the following guidelines, leaving room for creative
freedom:
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Portraits may be taken digitally or with traditional film and can be black and
white or color. The format must allow for enlargements up to 20" x 24".
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The Heart Gallery of Tampa Bay will be responsible for enlargements, matting
and framing.
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The Heart Gallery of Tampa Bay will select all participating children.
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Creativity is encouraged. However, in order to be sensitive to the
children's background, all portrait ideas, including location, must be detailed
and approved by the Heart Gallery of Tampa Bay before proceeding with the photo
shoot. The Heart Gallery of Tampa Bay will be responsible for
transporting children.
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Shooting schedules will be coordinated between the photographer and the child's
caretaker.
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One portrait of your choice will be entered into the juried show. One
portrait of all other subjects you submit will be included in the exhibit.
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The Heart Gallery of Tampa Bay will provide a brief profile of each child you
will photograph, defining any special considerations.
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Photographers will release all negatives and e-files, giving all rights and
ownership privileges to the Heart Gallery of Tampa Bay for use in marketing and
promotional materials.
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Credits/title rights will be given to all portraits used in marketing
materials.
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A special reception and juried show was held for photographers the evening
before the main debut event. At the reception, certified photography
"judges" critiqued the photos and selected the top three (3) photos and three
(3) honorable mentions. The winning photographers were awarded cash and a
gift certificate from a frame shop-all in-kind and/or donated to the Heart
Gallery. Children were also invited to attend the reception for one hour
to reunite with their photographers. (Special Note: We did not
place ribbons on the winning photos, as we wanted all children to feel special
and not feel as if they were being judge rather than the photo.)
II. Selecting the Children
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The Children's Home is one of the agencies involved in the child welfare system
in Tampa Bay. In conjunction with the governing organization,
Hillsborough Kids, Inc., we selected children to participate in the Heart
Gallery. First and foremost, the children must express an interest in
wanting to participate. The Gallery's photographs featured many children
for whom finding forever families is more difficult: sibling groups,
African American and older children. Children range in age from 5 to
17 and their parent's parental rights have been terminated.
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Transporting the children: Transportation of the children to the various
photo shoots was coordinated by the child's family/case worker (Hillsborough
Kids, Inc.).
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If you are coordinating the Heart Gallery project as a private entity and are
not affiliated with the child welfare system, recruiting someone in your state
or city's Department of Children and Families would be ideal.they have access
to the children to feature in the exhibit and can answer questions about the
adoption and foster care process.
III. Selecting the Venue (Art
Museum)/General Exhibit Information
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A general, beautiful art gallery is a perfect venue for hosting the Gallery and
a reception. A venue where the children can gain as much exposure as possible
is wonderful. After our debut, the Gallery will be displayed in 2 area
malls.the hang out for thousands of potential families!
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In our first Gallery, the photos were matted and framed (photos were 16 x 20)
and displayed on easels. In the second Gallery, photos were enlarged and
mounted on Gatorfoam (to the edge.no mat or frame was needed). Each year, this
process was an in-kind gift from a photo processing company used by
professional photographers. The photos were mounted on display boards
used for traveling exhibits.
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This year's exhibit featured an audio component where children allowed visitors
to listen and understand a little more about them through song, reading
excerpts from their favorite book, telling them about their favorite birthday
party, or giving three wishes. About half of the children featured
expressed an interest in participating in the audio recordings.
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4 x 9 profile cards of each child were also placed next to each child's
photograph. The profile card featured a small version of the child's
exhibit photo, gave general information about the child/children and provided
contact information about the Heart Gallery.
Example: This guy is as lively as he is
handsome! Tyler is 12 years old and waiting for the right family.
Might this be you? Tyler loves baseball, canoeing, and summer camp.
He states that some of his favorite all-time memories are from his time spent
at camp. Perhaps we have a future outdoorsman here! He is
persistent and can be a good leader with his peers. Tyler excels at math,
but needs loving parents to help him excel in other subjects such as
reading. He has been through much for his 12 short years, and shows
resilience and potential with the right family.
Tyler's ideal family would be patient, flexible,
and knowledgeable of how best to meet his needs. Enough time to give him
the one-on-one attention that he deserves. He will need continued
help in learning to manage his emotions and direct them in a positive
outlet. When focused, there is no stopping Tyler! Can you give him
the gift of a "forever" family?
IV. The Main Event
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We began planning 6 to 7 months before the debut event. We started by
recruiting photographers first, then selecting the children.
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The debut event was held Saturday, February 12, 2005, and featured a special
opening for the community's VIP's from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Gallery was
then opened to the general public from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The VIP event
featured speakers who represent the true essence of what the Heart Gallery
means to the community and the lives the Gallery would touch.stakeholder
representatives (agencies involved), a child currently seeking an adoptive
family who read a poem about her experiences, an adoptive parent who spoke of
the trials and joys of adoption, and an award-winning professional
businesswoman who told her story of growing up as a foster child. Refreshments
were served, light hors d'oeuvres, throughout the day.
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The guests who were invited to the general public opening consisted of:
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Individuals who expressed an interest in fostering/adopting a child, but never
attended a MAPP class
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Individuals who expressed an interest in fostering/adopting a child and
completed a MAPP class and Home Study and are ready to have a child matched
with his/her family
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Foster and adoptive families
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Donors, benefactors and volunteers in our database
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General public with media releases and publicity
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The guests who were invited to a VIP Reception consisted of:
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Mayor of Tampa (guest speaker)
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Event Sponsors
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High-end Corporate Donors
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Media
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County and City Commissioners
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Board of Directors
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Foundations
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Child Welfare Agencies
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Other Community VIP's
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Adoption Specialists, or staff from the child welfare agencies who understand
the adoption and foster care process, were on hand to answer questions about a
specific child and/or help guests understand the process. This proved to
be invaluable, as some guests were ready to begin the adoption process and many
asked questions, out of curiosity, about the characteristics of featured
children.
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Guests were also given an information card to complete to obtain more
information about the Heart Gallery, a specific child, or to request hosting
the Gallery at their place of business. Information cards were given to
the agency associates to contact interested parties. We, the agencies,
also set-up a tracking system to record who was interested, who followed-up and
a status as to where they are in the process.
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Guests were also given a promotional Heart Gallery CD to keep for themselves or
to pass along to friends, colleagues, and family.
V. General Questions/Steps
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Selection process for prospective parents: Before a
family is matched with a child, they must complete a Home Study and additional
classes required by the State (in Florida it's a MAPP class). A Home
Study is basically a background overview of the family's profile, including
their childhood, past and current relationships, criminal background and
such. Approved families are matched with a child based on the
characteristics of both the child and the prospective family. (PLEASE
ASK YOUR LOCAL CHILD WELFARE GOVERNING AGENCY OR THE DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND
FAMILIES IN YOUR STATE FOR THE ADOPTION/FOSTER CARE PROCESS APPLICABLE FOR YOUR
HEART GALLERY).
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If a family has an approved Home Study, the process can take anywhere from 1-6
months to have a child placed with the family. If a family does not have an
approved Home Study and has not taken the required classes, the process can
take from 6-12 months. Again, refer to the requirements provided by your
State.
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Funding:
Many of the expenses of the Heart Gallery were offset by in-kind and financial
gifts from private businesses, individuals, and foundations.
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Media: We were featured on every major news network in the Tampa Bay area, including the ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX affiliates and the local newspapers.The Tampa Tribune and The St. Petersburg Times. The Associated Press also picked-up the story and it was featured in newspapers in Jacksonville, Florida and cities in Georgia! We sent media advisories and general press releases weeks before the actual event debuted and followed-up with a personal pitch to each media outlet.
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It is important to identify children and/or families ahead of time to interview
for media opportunities. Compile a list of people with contact
information and a brief description of their story. Be ready to schedule
media interviews with a variety of angles, child in the system seeking
adoption, success story from an adoptive parent, a photographer affiliated with
the Heart Gallery, representatives from the Heart Gallery committee, and a
representative from the child welfare agency in your state.
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