This article first appeared in March 2001.

It began with a meeting last May in The Bistro, Willamette University's coffee shop. Two women, sitting across from each other, exchanging stories of life as an adoptee and as a foster child. I had entered foster care as a 13-year-old after experiencing an abusive childhood. Astrid Dabbeni had been adopted into the United States from Columbia. As we spoke, our shared experiences created a mutual bond.

I had never met another individual like myself with such a passionate interest in the world of adopted and foster children, and such a strong desire to educate others. Astrid and I quickly became close friends as we began to talk about ways to educate our campus community about these issues.

Once school resumed in the fall, we met with the coordinator of the university's Community Outreach Program (COP) to share our plan. The coordinator, Mari Morando, told us that since 1994, COP has sponsored a program called Operation Dream that could help us.

Each year, the program helps interested students put together a plan for educating the Willamette University campus and surrounding community on current social issues. In a period of a week, usually in the spring, Operation Dream sponsors educational activities and a related community outreach project.

In the past, the program has helped the community to learn about homelessness, racism, and AIDS. This year Operation Dream, led by Astrid and myself, focused on adoption and foster care awareness.

Making Things Happen
Within two months of our first meeting with Morando, Astrid and I established three committees to bring our plan to life. Our first was an Advisory Board of key members from the campus and community to serve as resources. Second, we constructed a Planning Committee of six students and staff who organized, prepared and carried out the week's activities. Lastly, we formed a group of volunteers who agreed to assist with Operation Dream as needed.

The Planning Committee's first obligation was to come up with several events for the week. Although we plotted the events for months, the schedule wasn't finalized until 2 weeks before show time. It was a lesson in the value of remaining flexible and on-task.

The week itself consisted of movie nights, local guest speakers, a discussion panel with live music, a resource fair and a service day. Most of our activities, except the service day, occurred in the evening.

During the day we set up an information center with flyers, hand-outs, books and volunteers to answer questions. We had four basic goals: to raise awareness, show the relevance of the issues to each person, give support to others involved with either the adoptive or foster care systems, and initiate a call to action.

Even before the week, Astrid and I witnessed the ways our passions and our hard work already succeeded in changing lives. For us, much of Operation Dream's success came in the seven months prior to the week of events, through personal interactions and deep discussions among everyone involved in the effort.

On Saturday, March 10th, we held a play day for foster and adopted families, biological children included. Over forty volunteers arrived to give these kids a memorable day of swimming, games in the gym, face painting, parent appreciation activities and play.

This day, which paired college students with adoptees and foster youth, was a great success. So we are now considering organizing an annual play day to support and promote further education on these issues.

Operation Dream taught me many valuable lessons, such as the importance of communication. As Astrid stated, "You can never ask too many questions!" Weekly meetings were critically important, allowing us to check in with our committee members and get progress reports on tasks that had been delegated. Also, in establishing an Advisory Board, I learned to tap into our community resources for information, ideas, materials, budgeting hints and answers to my questions.

Another significant lesson was in trusting each person to get the job done. Key elements to making a project such as Operation Dream a success are passion, a heartfelt desire to educate others, good people skills and a sense of humor. Remember to have fun while changing lives!

A how-to manual for preparing events, such as Operation Dream, is currently in the works and will be completed by May. For more information, please contact the Willamette University Community Outreach Program office at (503)370-6953.

April Choate, who entered foster care at the age of 13, now attends Willamette University in Oregon.