February 2009 Caseworker of the Month
Valeska Garay
Department of Children and Families
Asociación Puertorriqueños en Marcha (APM)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
I am pleased to nominate Ms. Valeska Garay for AdoptUsKids Caseworker of the Month. I have known Ms. Garay professionally for the past four years and I have always been impressed by her capacities to engage in so many distinct activities so competently and her commitment to making sure all children have a loving home and all potential parents can provide them with that home. I first met Ms. Garay when I went to the Asociación de Puertorriqueños en Marcha (APM) to pick up an adoption packet. Since that time, I have worked very closely with her in the adoption of our two wonderful children. Ms. Garay is articulate in both English and Spanish, she is organized, she is intelligent and she is committed to being an active agent for social change. We worked very closely with Ms. Garay throughout the entire process in the adoptions of both our son and our daughter. She was always available, always able to competently answer our questions, and also able to soothe us when there were difficult moments. Like ours, she has touched many lives and I know there are many other families out there who are equally grateful to her for helping make their dreams a reality. She is a true jewel and I thank her every day as I look at Carlos and Mariana. I could go on quite verbosely when writing about Ms. Garay, but I think you can gain an understanding and appreciation for the high regard in which I hold her. She is an incredible person – full of energy and enthusiasm, creative and dedicated to being part of the solution in changing a world that has its priorities upside down.
Rosemary Villegas-Barbera
Adoptive family
Philadelphia, PA
“Working with Rosemary and Eduardo was a pleasant and rewarding experience because it entailed working and presenting information to one of our most promissory families for any child waiting to be adopted. Rosemary and Eduardo are two well educated and knowledgeable people in the field of social services and therefore, aware of the current and past issues of disadvantaged communities, such as the children with special needs. The adoption training was challenging not only because of Rosemary and Eduardo's questions but because they participated and rationalize over the topics of adoption from their own views; as professionals and social activists. It was amazing to discover they wanted to adopt as a way to sympathize with the children in need of a family and help our society. Adoption was literally an option for them; an option to help suffering and abandoned children. Therefore, when an abandoned child was in need of a family I thought of them for their altruism and the true spirit of social service; without concerns about stipends, child care, or whatever it took to have the child. The rewards for me were to look at their eyes and see that there were no words able to describe the joy and fulfillment this act has brought to them. Since then, another child became theirs and to our unit's pride we did it all within six months!” - Valeska Garay