ASIA Families

ASIA Families was founded to respond to the post-adoption needs of adoptees and their families and to provide cultural education in a safe and welcoming community. We do this by:
• Supporting the life-long journey of Korean adoptees and their families through a community that provides education and resources about Korean culture and the adoptee experience.
• Fostering the development of confidence, resilience, and a strong, positive identity among adoptees throughout their unique journey.
• Growing a community of adoptees who can raise awareness about and guide others in understanding the Korean adoptee experience.

ASIA Families has developed a strategic plan to guide its priorities and initiatives over the next three years, as summarized below:
• High Impact Programs for Adoptees and Families
We provide diverse and impactful programming for adoptee and family participants. It is an essential focus of ASIA Families to increase demand for and participation in our programs from a broader age range of adoptees. We bring the right level of expertise to each topic, create ongoing connections with our stakeholders, and ensure that content is driven by the feedback and satisfaction of participants. Our current programs include:
• Korean Culture School: ASIA Families offers a Korean culture school that brings together children, teens, and adult adoptees and members of the broader Korean American community in a fun and welcoming environment. ASIA Families offers separate classes tailored to each age group, led by Korean American adults, including adult adoptees, as well as teen mentors. Korean Culture School also includes special programming for adoptive parents. Programming focuses on Korean culture, ranging from K-Pop to Korean language, and issues of interest to adoptive families.
• Camp Rice Family Culture Camp: Each July, ASIA Families sponsors a three-day family sleepover camp in the greater Washington, DC area. Camp Rice welcomes children of all ages who are Korean adoptees, their siblings and adoptive parents, and adult adoptees and their children. There are two separate camps – a family camp and a teen camp. There are programs for school-age children and adults. The Teen Camp is operated in the same facility but in a different section of the retreat center. While adults and younger children stay with their parents in a hotel-style room, teen campers of rising 9th graders have their own experience led by adult adoptee counselors. Camp Rice allows Korean adoptees to build meaningful relationships with peers and is known for its dynamic and thoughtful programming that includes special guest speakers and lots of fun.
• Korea Bridge Tour: ASIA Families sponsors summer homeland trips to South Korea for adult adoptees and families with children adopted from Korea. Led by the Executive Director, the tour draws on expert knowledge of language, country, culture, and the international adoptee experience to offer adoptees and families the trip of a lifetime. The Korea Bridge Tour also allows Korean adoptees to do a birth family search. The organization also raises sponsorships for selected adult adoptees to cover all trip costs in Korea.

• Engaged ASIA Families Community
ASIA Families has built and is expanding its presence in the community to support and enrich adoptees, parents, and families through connection to each other and the Korean community. Our goal is to create ASIA Families members for life.
• Strategic Communications: We have a communications program and team that develops our monthly ASIA Families newsletter and web presence that provides our comm

• High Impact Programs for Adoptees and Families: ASIA Families is celebrating its 15-year anniversary this year and is recognized for its capabilities in delivering impactful programs for adoptees and their families. Grace Song, our Executive Director, was awarded a Presidential Commendation by the President of South Korea, a very prestigious and well-deserved recognition. ASIA Families was also recognized as Best of 2023 in Leesburg, Virginia. Our staff, volunteers, and active network have advanced knowledge of Korean culture, adoption-related topics, and knowledge of and access to some of the best mental health, educational, and support services for adoptees and their families.

• Engaged ASIA Families Community: ASIA Families has built a strong and active network of families, volunteers and organizations that have been established over the last 15 years. We serve over 200 families and dozens of longstanding relationships that enrich our programs, community, and financial sustainability, such as the Korean Education Center, Sung Un Foundation, National Center for the Right of the Child, Ministry of Health and Welfare, First Korean Presbyterian Church, Glory Travel, United Way, Korean American’s Women’s Association, Lotte Market, and Network for Good.

• ASIA Families Organizational and Financial Sustainability: ASIA Families has an active and seasoned board with 19 members and advisors. We’ve developed committees that bring thought leadership, discipline, and resources to strategic planning, finance and fundraising, membership, marketing and communications and executive oversight. We develop and maintain relationships with sponsors and partners that enable our programs and financial stability. In addition to our Executive Director, we have several program directors and over 150 volunteers with more than 6,400 hours donated last year.

Progress Thus Far

ASIA Families has built an incredible network and programs over the last 15 years.
• We have provided over 28 Korean culture school semesters (672 sessions) for the past 15 years with expansive programming ranging from adoption and identity to birth searches and Korean craftmaking. In 2023, we served over 200 Korean adoptees and over 200 adoptive parents.
• We are known for the Korea Bridge Tours. We have conducted more than 6 annual tours with more than 212 adoptees and families. On these trips, we connect families with the Korean culture and many times birth and foster families. Participants universally describe the trip as life-changing.
• ASIA Families has hosted more than 14 Camp Rice programs with 120-200 participants each time.
• We have over 150 volunteers, many of whom are young adult adoptees, who have donated more than 6,400 hours of time. Some of their contributions are as Camp Rice counselors or helping on a Korea Bridge Tour. The volunteer program is as enriching for the volunteers as it is for our adoptees and families. Adult adoptee volunteers understand the unique value of ASIA Families and are eager to share knowledge and understanding of the Korean adoptee experience with younger participants and adoptive parents.

What’s Next
• High Impact Programs for Adoptees and Families: ASIA Families is looking to continue to deliver on our core programs, such as Korean Culture School, Camp Rice, and Korea Bridge Tours. As our adoptee population continues to change, we are looking to develop programs or initiatives that focus on adult adoptees and are developed by adult adoptees. As such, we have continued to increase the number of adult adoptees on the ASIA Families board and we have a committee focused on this topic. Additionally, we look to extend our programming for teens to create more opportunities for teen adoptees to connect with other teen adoptees.

• Engaged ASIA Families Community: ASIA Families is looking to expand its social media presence to reach a broader community. To do this, we have a strategic communications advisory group and team that is knowledgeable on platforms and connecting our community digitally. We are even looking to create social media ambassadors to foster more ways to learn and connect with ASIA Families programming. We know how important it is for Korean adoptees to have peers who share their unique lived experiences and want to expand our social media presence to reach more Korean adoptees and families.

• ASIA Families Organizational and Financial Sustainability: ASIA Families is looking to continue maturing the capacity of the program by creating succession plans for our key leaders, expanding committees on the board to increase our impact, and conducting a gala and other fundraising activities that contribute directly to our program and scholarships.