Press Release

Waiting for homes: Local woman helps couples adopt orphan children.

Lauren Feingold, 39, always dreamed of having a large family.

But after three years of marriage, when she hadn't become pregnant, she and her husband, David, decided to adopt.

However, before they could begin the process, Lauren Feingold surprisingly did conceive, giving birth to son Ryan, now 11. The same scenario was to repeat itself two more times, with Matthew, 10, and Nicholas, 6, joining the family.

It was only after she had the last of her three boys, with another pregnancy somewhat unlikely, that Feingold pursued her hopes for a large family through adoption.

"We investigated all of the adoption options and decided that international adoption was our path, as we felt strongly about adopting from an orphanage," Feingold says. "The Ukraine seemed to be the best place for us because both of our grandparents had been born there. "

Four years ago, the Feingold’s returned home from an orphanage in Vladivostok, Russia with 7-month-old twin daughters Marina and Reenie, whose "beauty, love, light and incredible sweet souls have enriched our lives beyond measure," she says.

The experience had such an impact on Lauren Feingold that she was moved to found "Heart to Heart," an organization whose mission it is to "unite children who are waiting for homes, love and a family with parents who are yearning for them." The organization facilitates adoptions in all Eastern European countries, including Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, Poland, and Lithuania, "but right now we're concentrating on the Ukraine, because that's the country most open to international adoptions.

"While in Russia, I was able to visit and spend time in the orphanage where my daughters lived for seven months," Feingold, an attorney, says. "I also saw many of the other orphans waiting for homes. My own adoption experience, as well as my awareness of the millions of orphans that are waiting, has inspired me to help other parents make their adoption dreams come true."

Since Feingold has been through the adoption process herself, she believes she knows every aspect of the process from an adoptive parent's point of view, and can assist prospective parents through every aspect of the adoption journey.

"We are facilitators, helping couples or single persons who would like to adopt internationally," she says. "At Heart to Heart, we work hand in hand with you through every step of the adoption process, from the initial paperwork, the [Bureau of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services] requirements, dossier compilation, as well as the actual in-country experience," she says. "We also provide services to help [parents] through the post-adoption adjustment period, such as counseling and in-home bonding and attachment workshops."

All of Feingold's five children attend West Palm Beach's Arthur I. Meyer Jewish Academy, where she is member of the school's Parent Teacher Organization. The entire family attends Chabad of Palm Beach, where Feingold is active in volunteer work, says Rabbi Shlomo Ezagui.

"She is a very fine, spiritual and compassionate woman," he says. "She really cares about children. Adoption is a very sensitive issue. You need someone who is honest and compassionate - and she's more than that. You couldn't find a better person."

Wellington resident Randi Grillo, 37, a supporter of Feingold and the Heart to Heart organization, echoes those sentiments.

"She's such a lovingand giving person," Grillo says. "Ever since she went the orphanage, she's wanted to help these children."

Grillo, who has a background in social work, plans to help Feingold with the organization after it achieves foundation status, as Feingold hopes.

"I want to grow the organization," Feingold says. "I want to help as many people as I can. I want to help parents who so desperately want to have children of their own, and I want to help these orphans find families."

For more information about Heart to Heart, call Lauren Feingold at 561-543-6261, or visit her Web site: www.fkhearttoheart.com.