The China Parents Committee was established in 1997 when a group of eight volunteers offered their services following FCA’s first China Culture Day. The following year, 90 people attended Culture Day, held at First Congregational Church in Norwalk in September 1998. Families created Chinese crafts, heard Chinese stories, listened to traditional songs, and answered questions of waiting parents by creating the Waiting Parents Room. The highlight of the day was a Parade of our Children on the Town Green. Committee members used their own finances and sought donations from local corporations to sponsor the event. At that time, FCA had placed 30 Chinese children with their forever families.

Since then, FCA has united hundreds of Chinese children with their forever families, and the number of people participating in Committee organized events has grown as well. The Committee has planned annual Culture Days, Chinese New Year parties, and donated over $26,000 to Chinese orphans. The original mission of the Committee - to help our children grow up learning and appreciating their rich Chinese heritage – was expanded to include improving the lives of orphans that remain in China, especially those who reside in provinces from which many of our children have come.

In 2005, Fang Zhang became the Manager of FCA’s China Adoption Program as well as our Committee’s new liaison. In Fang’s words “The work that the Committee does is very important, as you are giving your children a link to China. The passion of the Committee’s members also enhances FCA’s China program, and helps many children that remain in Chinese orphanages. It is unique among our adoption programs and I am proud to be part of it.”

Helping our “Sisters” in China

Up until 2001, the China Parents Committee did not have the financial resources to fund projects in China. The turning point in 2001 was the creation of the FCA China calendar. The calendars showcase our beautiful children and identify their names and provinces they are from. Due to generous donations of coordination, graphic design, and printing, the calendar was a resounding financial success. With excess capital, the Committee began helping the orphans in China as a gesture of “sisterhood” from the children who had been adopted. Each orphanage has awarded The China Parents Committee with commemorative plaques, elaborate celebratory receptions, and Chinese media attention.

A Summary of Donations made over the Years

2007 –Life-Changing Surgeries, Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi Province: The China Parents Committee donated proceeds from our Charm and Cookbook fundraisers to fund two life-changing surgeries through China Care Foundation, Inc. The first recipient was an an 8 month-old girl abandoned in Shaanxi province with multiple congenital defects including anal atresia. This means that she was born without an anus. Our donation was used for surgery to create a fully functioning anus and to close the colostomy. This surgery enables her to live a healthier and more normal life.

The second recipient s a one week-old boy who was abandoned in Inner Mongolia, also with anal atresia (born without an anus). He had been exposed to the severe cold and had damaged legs from the experience. He had emergency surgery, flying into Beijing. The surgery gave him an opportunity to have a healthier and more normal life.

Thank you to everyone who helped make these critically important surgeries possible! More on these children and others still waiting for their surgeries can be found at ww.chinacare.org.

2006 –Zhuzhou Children's Welfare Institute and Xinhua Social Welfare Institute , Hunan Province: We are sponsoring 20 children in foster care in Hunan Province. This is our largest gift to date, and is made possible through the generosity of those who purchased the Noodles & Chopsticks Cookbook and 10th Anniversary Calendar, and attended the 10th Anniversary Celebration. The gift of foster care sponsorship has been recognized with the same saying as all our previous donations – A Gift From Your Sisters and Brothers In America. Heather Mackenzie oversaw the delivery of our donation during her family's heritage tour. She visited the Xinhua SWI, where one of her daughter's lived, and met with the Hunan Civil Affairs office in Changsha, who provided a certficate of appreciation for our donation. Xinhua is in a poor, remote area and was very happy to receive our assistance. The director was proud to see one of the

2005 – Gao An Children's Welfare Institute, Jiangxi Province: A significant financial donation was made to fund this newly built orphanage, which now houses 100 children. Working with the orphanage director, the China Parents Committee was able to have the local press and television station cover a dedication ceremony from one of our travel groups.

2004 - Bengbu Social Welfare Institute, Anhui province and Huainan Welfare Institute, Anfei Province: Washers, fax machines, walkers, tape recorders, books, and children’s clothing for Bengbu, and air conditioners for the playroom at Huainan.

2003 - Economic Province of Chongqing: 100 cribs and badly needed clothing distributed among the orphanages. Each crib has a plaque on it as a remembrance of our FCA children.

2002 - Yangzhou Welfare Institute, Jiangsu province: Outdoor and indoor playgrounds, giving the children the ability to play outdoors in a safe environment and indoors in inclement weather.