News Releases

The Children's Trust Miami Heart Gallery to Celebrate Launch of 2011 Exhibit at Coral Gables Museum on June 10th

Foster Children Featured in This Year's Exhibit Will Be in Attendance

MIAMI – MAY 26, 2011 - The Children's Trust is re-launching its adoption awareness initiative for the fourth consecutive year at a reception on Friday, June 10, 2011, 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. at the Coral Gables Museum, 285 Aragon Avenue, Coral Gables, FL 33134. The Children's Trust Miami Heart Gallery is a traveling museum-quality exhibit featuring portraits of children in Miami-Dade's foster care system who are available for adoption. The celebration will have a Mediterranean flare to accentuate the locations throughout Coral Gables that served as backdrops for the photo shoots, including the iconic Biltmore Hotel.

More than 400 guests are expected to attend, including many of the 19 children featured in the exhibit, as well as several of the award-winning photographers who donated their time and talent for this project. Hundreds of community leaders, child advocates and people who have expressed an interest in adoption also will be in attendance.

Approximately half of the 155 children who have been featured in The Children's Trust Miami Heart Gallery in the past three years have either been adopted or are in the process of being adopted. A couple who adopted a child from the exhibit will speak publicly about their experience, and others will join them with their newly adopted children to receive their child's portrait to take home.

"This is always an emotional event," said Modesto E. Abety, president and CEO of The Children's Trust. "Not only are the portraits stunning, but after these families come up and share their stories there isn't a dry eye in the house. We're humbled and privileged to be able to make such a life-altering difference in these children's lives."

Parking for the event is available at the Museum Garage located at 250 Aragon Avenue. The exhibit will be open to the public at the Coral Gables Museum from 8 a.m.–5 p.m., Monday to Friday, June 13 - July 29, and will subsequently travel to different venues throughout Miami-Dade County.

This initiative is a partnership between The Children's Trust and Our Kids of Miami-Dade/Monroe, Inc., the local lead agency for child welfare in Miami and the Keys. According to the state of Florida, there are 800 children in Florida who are available for adoption. These children have been removed from their biological parents for reasons of neglect or abuse with no possibility of family reunification.

The Children's Trust Miami Heart Gallery is complemented by a comprehensive website, www.miamiheartgallery.org, which highlights the portraits and a video of each child; as well as a video of the making of the Miami Heart Gallery. For more information about adoption, call The Children's Trust Helpline at 211 or visit www.miamiheartgallery.org.