Adoption is a great way to bring a new child into your family and do and good thing for a child in need in the process. Here in Lake Oswego, Vickie VanArtsdalen that is working on her very own adoption of an eight year old girl from China – her name is Roro.

The adoption process is a long and emotional one. Adopting through China usually takes about 12-18 months. It is also extremely expensive. The work that the families put into an adoption to get their child, is outstanding and tiring. It is paperwork, paperwork, and more paperwork.

Eric Whitbeck, social studies student teacher in the history department at LHS, has an adoption story of his own. He adopted his son from South Korea.

Whitbeck said that the process through South korea though it doesn’t take much time, was expensive. He said “international adoption is very expensive.” Whitbeck and his wife paid about $20,000 in fees to adopt their son. .

These are the fees that VanArtsdalen is up against: $4,500 for adoption service agreement, $580 letter of intent fee, $300 homestudy application fee, $2,000 homestudy fee, $700 second agency fee, $1,500 Dossier retainer fee, $720 USCIS fee plus $85 for fingerprinting, $4,500 third agency fee, $1,460 dossier registration, $580 DS-260 filling (application for the child’s visa), $2,000 for post-placement social worker visits (4 required visits at 1 month – 3 years). And once travel comes around another $7,000 for airfare, hotels, transportation, tips for drivers and guides, and a required donation to the orphanage.

This all adds up to a total of about $25,925. That is why her fundraising is so important. She is hoping that some grants will come through to help with the costs.

She has the US approval for the adoption so far. The rest of the adoption is in the hands of China and the completion of the fees.

Due to this tremendous cost, VanArtsdalen has decided to start a shoe drive fundraiser to help pay for the adoption costs. She is collecting pairs of new or used shoes and having people drop them off at her house in bags.

“I’ve always been open to adopting a child but I was waiting for ‘the right time’,” said VanArtsdalen. Her friend was advocating for a little chinese boy named “J” and while looking at the profiles of other children who had come with J to America, she saw Roro.

VanArtsdalen said that when she saw the photo of Roro she thought, “that’s my daughter.” With that she contacted the agency and started working on her process of adoption.  

As of Friday, Nov. 25, she has 46 garbage bags full of donated shoes for the adoption of her soon to be daughter. She is also currently trying to work with Nike – here in Portland – to see what they can do in terms of donations.

Along with the shoe donations, she is working on some other cute options to help raise money for Roro.

For $1, you can get your name on the back of a 500 piece puzzle that will be assembled and hung up in Roro’s room so that she will be able to see all the amazing people that helped make her adoption possible.

On top of that, you can purchase homemade superhero capes and masks for the young ones for just $10. For girls you can chose from Batgirl, Spidergirl, Wonder Woman, and there is a Frozen themed mask and cape and more. On the other hand, boys can transform into Superman, the Hulk, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, Darth Vader, Spider Man, etc.

All of the money raised will go to the adoption of this little girl. You can donate shoes at Avoda Health, 1050 SW 7th Ave in Albany. The gofundme page for Roro is https://www.gofundme.com/a-home-for-RoRo. So go gather some old shoes and let’s get Roro home for New Years!