Congressman Mike Ferguson honors Jeanine Castagna, Esq. as an Angel in Adoption™

August 20, 2008

To Be Recognized at National Event in Washington, DC

(Garden City, NY) - Congressman Mike Ferguson has nominated attorney Jeanine Castagna (pictured left) as a 2008 Angel in Adoption™ for her outstanding advocacy of adoption issues. The Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI), which orchestrates the Angels in Adoption™ program, will honor Jeanine Castagna, along with more than 180 Angels, at an awards ceremony and gala event in Washington, DC, September 16, 2008.

Jeanine Castagna has been involved with adoption for over a decade. She received her law degree from Hofstra University in 1996 and has been practicing adoption law ever since. Six years ago Jeanine started her own practice in Garden City, New York that focuses specifically on adoption law. Throughout her career, Jeanine has been involved in over three hundred private placement domestic newborn adoptions, step-parent adoptions and international re-adoptions. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys, a member of the Adoption Committee of the New York State Bar Association, the American Fertility Association, RESOLVE, the National Infertility Network Exchange, and of DES Action. She and her husband, Edward, are founding members of the Tender Loving Care Foundation, a non-profit organization supporting the parents of babies in the neonatal intensive care unit of the North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System in New York, as well as serving on the Board of Directors for that organization.

The Angels in Adoption™ program is CCAI’s signature public awareness campaign and provides an opportunity for all members of the U.S. Congress to honor the good work of their constituents who have enriched the lives of foster children and orphans in the United States and abroad.

This year, CCAI is celebrating their 10th Anniversary of honoring ordinary people doing extraordinary things! Over the last 10 years, CCAI has highlighted the work of over 1,300 people making a lasting difference in the life of a child.

“The Angels in Adoption program is unlike any other program in the Nation’s Capitol. Because of it, over 1300 “Angels” have come to share with Washington their adoption experience and left with a renewed excitement of all that adoption makes possible,” said Kathleen Strottman. “I learned one simple lesson from my time on the hill, knowledge is power. Angels in Adoption is meant to give Members of Congress the knowledge they need to use the power they have toward making the dream of a family a reality for every child.”

In addition to the more than 180 local angels from around the country, several National Angels will also be recognized at the ceremony and gala for their dedication and commitment nationally and internationally to child welfare on a grand scale. Former “National Angels” include First Lady Laura Bush, Patti LaBelle, Jane Seymour, Muhammad Ali, the late Dave Thomas, Steven Curtis Chapman, Bruce Willis, Alonzo Mourning, and Marcus Samuelsson.

The Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) is a 501(c)3 nonpartisan organization dedicated to raising awareness about the tens of thousands of orphans and foster children in the United States and the millions of orphans around the world in need of permanent, safe, and loving homes through adoption. CCAI’s goal is the elimination of the barriers that hinder these children from realizing their basic right of a family.

CCAI was created in 2001 by the active co-chairs of the bicameral, bipartisan Congressional Coalition on Adoption (CCA) to more effectively raise Congressional and public awareness about the issue of adoption.

The Angels in Adoption™ program was established in 1999 as a Congressional press conference to honor outstanding individuals. Since then, the program has developed into a yearlong public awareness campaign culminating in an extraordinary awards Gala and celebration in Washington, D.C.

The Angels in Adoption™ program is made possible through the generous support of Diamond and Founding Sponsor, the Freddie Mac Foundation, and Platinum Sponsor, SuperValu, Inc.

CCAI does not receive any government funding and they rely on the generous support of foundations, corporations, and individuals to accomplish their mission. For more information visit http://www.ccainstitute.org

Posted by News LI Editor · Edited by Brianna - Filed Under Business