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Houser Adoption Scholarship Fund: Helping Wisconsin Families Adopt Children from Russia

Posted November 1, 2010 by Shannon Suda

Categories: Success Stories, International Adoption

Houser Adoption Scholarship Fund: Helping Wisconsin Families Adopt Children from Russia

Photo of Houser’s with adoptive children: Ron and Elisa Houser pictured with their daughter, Katarina (far right) and 3 of the adoptive children whose families were able to adopt them thanks to the Hauser Adoption Scholarship Fund. 1st Row: Matthew Koehler, Laura Koehler, Marlee Mattes and, and Katarina Houser 2nd row: Ron and Elisa Houser

Ron and Elisa Houser adopted their daughter, Katarina in 2001 from Novosibirsk, Russia through LSS’ adoption program. Although the couple had children of their own, after hearing their friend talk about the challenges orphaned children face in Russia, the Housers new that adoption was a journey they were destined to take.

Since then the Housers have been passionate about helping other children and families who need assistance financing their own adoptions. “We discovered there are a lot of families who want to adopt but can’t afford it,” says Elisa Houser. “The average Russian adoption now costs about $45,000. We wanted to do something to help families in need.” The Housers sponsored two summer camps that brought older kids from Russia to Wisconsin for two weeks, resulting in all of the children finding an adoptive family.

From there the Houser Adoption Scholarship Fund was born in 2009. The scholarship provides financial assistance to families looking to adopt through LSS’ adoption program. The Houser Family Foundation funds the scholarship program and in the short time since its inception has provided scholarships to five families.

“At LSS our mission is to improve the quality of people’s lives and our vision is to change the world one grace- filled life at a time. There is no better example of mission and vision in action than when the Houser family stepped forward to assist in creating forever families by connecting children and orphanages with waiting parents here in Wisconsin,” says David Larson, LSS President & CEO.  “To watch the eyes and smiling faces of both children and families as they are united is one of the greatest gifts.  We are ever thankful to the Housers for enabling this kind of wonderful event to take place–for without their generosity it could not have happened.”

LSS honored Ron and Elisa Houser and recipients of the scholarship fund at a reception on Tuesday, August 24, 2010. The reception was held at Advent Lutheran Madison Christian Community in Madison, Wisconsin.  During the reception, the Housers met four of the five families that were recipients of the scholarship fund. “What a wonderful experience it was to meet the families we’ve heard so much about,” says Elisa. “It’s amazing to see kids who were in an orphanage four months ago and to see four months later, they are happy and smiling. The stories are heartbreaking and the parents are so grateful and appreciative. It was an emotional experience and a really wonderful opportunity to help other families adopt.”

The Housers’ daughter, Katarina, is now 9 ½ years old. “If you can change the life of one child you can really make a difference,” says Elisa. “Katarina has changed our life. We want our daughter to be involved in helping other children be as fortunate too, by continuing to involve her with the scholarship program.”

Houser Adoption Scholarship Fund Criteria: 
 

• Children need to be orphans under the age of 10 residing in Russia
• Parents need to be residents of Wisconsin or Upper Michigan and participants of LSS’ Russian adoption program
• Each parent needs to meet the qualifications to adopt from Russia (visit www.lssadopt.org for more information)
• Applicants must have an annual household gross income of less than $80,000 for the past 3 calendar years

Applicants can apply for the scholarship fund through their home study adoption workers.  Contact your local office to learn more.