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South Florida Foster Kids Pose for Photo Project

BY ROBERT SAMUELS
Published in The Miami Herald

Her smile beaming with a tinge of red lipstick, the foster child posed for the photographer.

Monday was the day for Aaliyah Herring, 9, to feel like a celebrity. Hairstylists teased her hair and makeup artists added the fuchsia-colored lipstick to match her short-sleeve top. But this was more than a glamour shot.

The Children's Trust and Our Kids, a private agency handling adoptions in Miami-Dade County, gathered Aaliyah and about 70 other foster children at Vizcaya Museum and Gardens to snap their portraits, hoping the shots taken at the landmark would encourage someone to become their future mom or dad.

The children were photographed and videotaped to be a part of the second edition of the Miami Heart Gallery, a traveling art exhibit. The new set will launch in June with the same goal as last year's inaugural edition: that the adorable photographs might inspire someone to adopt a child they might not otherwise have considered.

''They become hooked because the beautiful images that capture the essence and personality of the child really communicate and make a strong connection with the adults,'' said Emily Cardenas, the trust's spokeswoman.

With the gallery in its second year, dozens of potential parents have expressed interest in the children portrayed -- and more than half of them are at some stage of welcoming one of the children into their families, Cardenas said.

THEY'RE DIFFERENT

Adoptive parents usually want healthy babies who have no siblings. The children who are photographed are different. Most are at least 8 years old, and some have brothers and sisters who also need to be adopted. The infants who are photographed have special needs.

There are more than 100 heart galleries around the country, including 13 in Florida.

The Broward Heart Gallery was founded in 2006. Miami-Dade's program -- which costs $150,000 a year to maintain, plus $100,000 to market -- is the newest and, so far, the most successful in the state.

The pictures are taken by award-winning professional photographers who volunteer their time, hoping to capture the spirit of the child waiting to be adopted.

HUNDREDS NEED HOMES

About 200 foster children are eligible for adoption in Miami-Dade. Most have been removed from their biological parents because of abuse or neglect. More than one-third of them have spent three years waiting to be adopted.

''At the end of the day, they are beaming with pride, and they have just had an amazing day and they leave with expectations that [finding adoptive parents] is possible,'' Cardenas said. ``And if they don't, it was a wonderful experience for them.''

The 2008 edition of the Miami Heart Gallery is being shown at the Adrienne Arsht Center until the end of the month. It also can be viewed online at www.miamiheart gallery.com.