Companies changing lives forever through promoting adoption

This post is not about either (a) technology or (b) law.  It is about something much more important:  adopting children.  This topic is important to our family because we are adopting a child.  Adoption provides not only a home for what otherwise might be a homeless child, it changes the course of lives that otherwise might be unbearable.

For whatever reasons (not important to this discussion) many of the children in the adoption process are coming from extremely difficult, often gut-wrenching circumstances.  Adoption is usually facilitated by the selfless decision of the birth mother to place the child with another family.  This decision provides the child with a better life, relieves pressure from the birth parents and blesses the adoptive family beyond description.  So, obviously I am a fan of adoption.  I am also a fan of companies that promote adoption and that is what generated this post.

An article in our local newspaper, The Oklahoman, highlighted several companies that provide generous subsidies to employees who are adopting children. One of the companies is Chesapeake Energy Corporation, headquartered in Oklahoma City.

Chesapeake prefunds $10,000 accounts, and a third-party administrator, reimburses employees for eligible legal fees, medical expenses, travel and other costs.  In another example, QuikTrip, a Tulsa, Oklahoma based convenience store chain, has “one of the oldest and richest adoption policies.” Quicktrip grants adopting employees up to six weeks’ paid leave and up to $10,000 to help with necessary travel and medical care.  There are many others providing similar assistance and encouragement.

With the onslaught of [often deserved] negative news about companies, it is wonderful to be able highlight companies whose policies promote changed lives that impact so many people for generations.

As Oklahoma City Twitter superstar Scott Williams (@scottwilliams) would say/do #FistBump to these companies!