TOLEDO, Ohio — The Heart Gallery travels around northwest Ohio to spread awareness about adoption.
Wendy Spoerl, the president of the Adopt America Network in Toledo, on Thursday said the exhibit is about placing kids in homes who are in foster care.
"The libraries are wonderful because we can get to a lot of different parts of the Toledo community and spread this message more broadly," Spoerl said.
Adopt America Network partnered with Toledo-Lucas County Public Library to display the traveling gallery for over nine years.
Kathy Schaffer, a social worker for the Adopt America Network, said her work transcends her job.
It's her mission to help foster children and their potential adoptive families.
"I decided when I came to work for Adopt America that this would be my last professional job and it's gone much longer than I thought it would," Schaffer said.
Schaffer takes pride in finding kids homes and she sees the positive results in what the Heart Gallery has provided.
"We have more families now coming through for adoption than we've had in years, which is amazing," she said.
Many families have it in their hearts to adopt, but the financial toll can be extensive.
"Adopt America Network works on behalf of kids in foster care who need permanency, and we have always believed families who are parenting kids in foster care shouldn't be burdened with expenses associated with bringing a child into their home," Spoerl said.
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