최근에 한국으로 돌아 온 , 미국으로 입양되었던 한 사람으로서 이처럼 역동적인 단체를 대표하고 이끌어 나갈 수 있는 기회를 가진 것에 대해 감사드립니다. 제가 한국에 도착했을 때, 한국인으로서의 정체성을 찾고 받아 들일 수 있게 해준 입양인 동료들로 이루어진 이 단체를 알게 되었습니다. 도착 직후부터 G.O.A.'L 의 친 가족 찾기 부서에서 봉사활동을 시작하면서 이 단체에 익숙해질 수 있었습니다. 저는 이 단체와,  모든 노력들, 그리고 성과에 대해 감사히여기고 있습니다. G.O.A.'L은 지난 14년 동안 우리 공동체를 위해 노력해왔습니다. 제가 이러한 헌신적인 단체의 일원이며 기여하고 있다는 사실이 매우 행복합니다. 저는 비영리 경영, 단체조직 및 정책에 초점을 맞춘 국제 사회복지학을 공부했습니다.. 저희의 훌륭한 직원들과 함께 제 역량이 함께 쓰이기를 기대합니다.

Looking forward, G.O.A.’L has secured funding through the end of the year and will continue to provide the following services:

Birth Family Search
Post Reunion Discussions
First Trip Home
Assistance acquiring F-4 VISA and Dual citizenship
Translation Services (Korean, English and French)
Community Events and Outreach

Our current staff will use the transition period until the end of the year to update our archives and formalize workflows so we can work more efficiently. This will enable us to better serve our community and to focus on the current needs within the adoptee community.

Thank you for your continued support and patience as we move forward.

Finally, I am pleased to announce the dates of our 5th annual 2012 First Trip Home:

Thursday, September 13th - Friday, September 21st 2012

First Trip Home is a program for adoptees who seek to be reunited with their birth families, but who have not returned to Korea since their adoption. Since its inception, First Trip Home has assisted 127 adoptees through their birth family search process, 62 of whom have successfully found their Korean birth families.

Further program details and online application will be available on our website by the end of next week.
The application deadline is June 30th 2012 and participants will be informed on July 6th 2012.

Best Regards,

Jessica J. Boling (정보미), MSW
Vice Secretary General