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Washington, DC – The Freddie Mac Foundation today proved once again that a picture is worth many words with the debut of the Freddie Mac Foundation Heart Gallery, a traveling exhibit of photographic portraits of Washington metropolitan region foster children in need of adoption. The Heart Gallery’s launch at Union Station in Washington, DC, marks the start of National Adoption Awareness Month. "We are very grateful for the gift of the Freddie Mac Foundation Heart Gallery to our community and to the foster children of this city and region," said Mayor Anthony A. Williams. "The Heart Gallery will give new hope to many children who have been waiting too long for a family. On behalf of the residents of DC, I thank the Freddie Mac Foundation for its continued commitment to foster children and for its unwillingness to give up on any child in need of a home." More than fifty children are featured in the exhibit, and as a result stand a better chance of being adopted by adults who see their pictures. Most of the children portrayed are considered difficult to place and need every opportunity possible to leave the foster care system into a family to call their own. The purpose of the Heart Gallery is to put these children’s faces in the public eye, find them permanent homes, and raise awareness of the plight of more than 500 foster children in the region. "These pictures capture the soul, the spirit, and the light that exists within these children, a light often dimmed by despair and waiting," said Maxine B. Baker, president and CEO of the Freddie Mac Foundation. "The Foundation is-as always-committed to these children, and the Heart Gallery is one more way we can give them a chance at finding a family." Forty renowned local photographers, including photojournalists from the Washington Post and Washington Times, volunteered their time and talent to take artistic photographs of children who seldom find themselves to be the focus of a camera. A short description of the child accompanies each portrait, proving that the children’s interests and talents are as unique as their smiles. However, they all have one thing in common: the dream of finding a permanent, safe and loving home. Take-away postcards of each child that provide information on how to begin the adoption process and other ways to help a foster child are also part of the exhibit. The Freddie Mac Foundation Heart Gallery will travel all over the region to maximize the exposure the foster children receive. After its showing at Union Station, where it will remain until November 13, it will be moved to the John A. Wilson Building, which houses the Mayor’s office and the city’s administrative services. The exhibit will then be shown at the Russell Senate Building, the Ronald Reagan Building, and a number of other venues in the District and region, including convention halls, and community centers. As children become adopted, their portraits will be taken down to make room for new faces waiting for families. "We are especially proud of the Heart Gallery because it has brought together so much of our community," said Baker. "From the photographers who donated their talent and time, to the venues that will host the exhibit, this effort brought out the best in all involved for the best of causes: improving children’s lives." In addition to the traveling exhibit, the Freddie Mac Foundation has launched a virtual Heart Gallery featuring the same children. The website, www.freddiemacfoundation.org/heartgallery/, is another way potential adoptive parents can see these children in need. Although new to the Washington, DC, region, Heart Galleries have already been successful all over the country in recruiting parents for foster children. The Foundation’s Heart Gallery joins other Freddie Mac Foundation efforts to improve the lives of foster children in the nation’s capital and nationwide. Through its Wednesday’s Child televised program, in which many of the children in the Heart Gallery have appeared, the Foundation recruits families for foster children in need of adoption. In response to unprecedented need, the Foundation recently created the Katrina Fund for Foster Children, a $1 million fund to help foster children, families, and the nonprofits that support them in the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina. The Freddie Mac Foundation is also a sponsor of National Adoption Day on November 19, when thousands of adoptions nationwide are finalized. Created by Freddie Mac in 1991, the Freddie Mac Foundation is dedicated to opening the doors to hope and opportunity for children and their families. As one of the largest corporate funders in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, Freddie Mac and the Freddie Mac Foundation have invested nearly $250 million in organizations serving the community. www.FreddieMacFoundation.org.
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