Announcing: Referral Gift Program
Circle Surrogacy is proud to announce that it will donate $300 to Center Kids on behalf of each former client or surrogate who will refer a New York /Center Kids client to us. Just ask your friends to mention that you referred them, or notify us by email when you send your friends over!
Circle Surrogacy has always benefited from recommendations from our satisfied clients, and we will be pleased to reward the entire parent community for this support.
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spotlight: center kids
Supporting & Advocating for NY-Metro
LGBT Families
By Terry Boggis, director of Center Kids
Center Kids is the family program of the New York’s LGBT Community Center. Currently, more than 2,500 families in the tri-state area utilize Center Kids programs for LGBT parents, their children and for those considering parenthood. The Center, which also advocates at state and local levels for the rights of alternative families, has become a model for regional and national LGBT family organizations.
Many gay men and lesbians have long had children through heterosexual marriages. However, in recent years there has been an explosion of family development and child rearing by individuals and couples in our community, including a growing number of men. Reproductive choice, from treatment options to legal rights, should no longer be considered as primarily a straight woman’s issue. Recognizing this, Center Kids hosted a panel discussion on “Gay Men and Reproductive Choice” last September.
The panel included CircleSurrogacy’s president, along with a CS parent and a two time CS surrogate.
Furthering the commitment to gay men’s right to fatherhood, the Center runs several groups that provide information and support for intended parents. Among them is the "Center Kids Planning Biological Parenthood for Gay Men”. This group primarily addresses surrogacy and sperm donation, including the associated legal, medical, financial, social and moral issues. The group is also an opportunity to get together with other gay men considering fatherhood, share information, provide mutual
support, and to builda network of gay dads. This group meets on the 4th Wednesday of each month, 6:30-8 PM. Additional groups are available for women considering biological parenthood, and for men and women considering adoption or co-parenting.
For the growing number of LGBT families, the Center provides a meeting place and access to a wide variety of programs. Center Kids gives children ongoing opportunities to befriend others from similar families, while their parents have a chance to meet, socialize and build their own support network. Educational workshops for parents are also offered, such as financial and legal planning workshops, or the Bringing Home Baby events. Center Kids also hosts several big “play” events every
year, including the PridePicnic each June, Halloween and Holiday Parties, and other special events. And of course the Center always organizes a contingent in the Pride March each June.
Beyond providing services to families and prospective parents, Center Kids has also been an active partner in a wide range of relevant public policy initiatives and advocacy organizations including Marriage Equality, Foster Care Coalition, the National Family Policy Working Group, the Empire State Pride Agenda’s annual Lobby Day, and Queer Economic Justice Network.
For more information about these groups and other events, contact Terry Boggis, director of Center Kids:
Tel: 212.620.7310, ext. 228
email: terry@gaycenter.org
Website: http://www.gaycenter.org/program_folders/Families/program_view
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