Many couples have the love and compassion needed to be parents but cannot have a child biologically. Others wish to expand their family through adoption but lack the funds necessary to adopt a baby.
A local Pasco County couple who has been through the adoption process is giving back so another family can share the same joy. After celebrating the birth of their son Brett, Jarod and Melissa Scharber of Sharber Law Group faced issues having a second child.
So the Scharber’s decided to turn to adoption to complete their happy family. They were blessed to adopt a baby girl, whom they named Brynn. Throughout their adoption journey, the biggest surprise for Jarod and Melissa was the cost of adoption. They were able to afford to adopt but realized that wasn’t the case for everyone.
“There are kids out there in need, there are families out there that want these kids, let’s find a way to get over that financial hurdle,” said Jarod in a recent interview with ABC Action News. Jarod and Melissa wanted to help defray the cost of adoption for another hopeful adoptive couple. So they launched a simple fundraiser, selling yellow T-shirts which read “FOSTER & ADOPT & SUPPORT & ADVOCATE & MENTOR & PRAY. Because every child deserves a home.”
Businesses and individuals in the Pasco County area sponsored the fundraiser. They also promoted adoption awareness by buying shirts and posting about the fundraiser on social media. In the end, $6,800 was raised, and the Scharber’s presented that money to another area family. The recipients, Rob and Angela, are one of Lifetime’s waiting adoptive families.
“Melissa’s heart is so big and her giving nature shined through. Witnessing the Scharber’s and their work family paying it forward for another family melted my heart,” said Linda Rotz, Agency Director for Lifetime Adoption.
Linda shared that she first met Rob and Angela when doing their home study for adoption. “They are a lovely couple who have been with Lifetime for a year. I was thrilled they were selected as the recipient of such a generous donation,” she shares. The young couple already had our two girls, Adalyn and Aubrielle, but felt called to adopt a third child. As Rob and Angela wait to be chosen by a birth mother, they feel excited, knowing that their lives could change any day.
Rob and Angela appreciate all the support from the entire Pasco community and others who contributed to the fundraiser through t-shirt purchases. In an interview for ABC, Angela shared, “[It is] a huge blessing to us to know that somebody else was understanding the burden, the finances, trying to adopt and how precious it is to adopt a child.”
You can learn more about Rob and Angela’s family on their adoption website or by watching their video:
Mardie Caldwell, C.O.A.P., is a nationally-recognized adoption expert and the Founder of Lifetime Adoption Agency. She has been working in adoption since 1986 and is also an award-winning author and speaker.
Mardie knows the sorrow of coping with infertility, and is an adoptive parent who experienced many of the challenges adoptive families might face. In various media appearances worldwide, publications, and her podcast, Mardie important steps that must be taken to complete a safe and secure adoption. Having adopted her son, Mardie knows firsthand the joys of raising an adopted child.
Mardie’s life mission is to help adoptive parents and birth parents find each other. With Lifetime Adoption Agency, she seeks to build happy families and provide precious infants and children with a loving and secure future.