When 15-year-old Sydney Nachtigall is asked to reflect on a favourite memory, one specific moment quickly comes to mind for the bubbly high school cheerleader from Nanaimo.

It’s the time three years ago when her foster mom asked Sydney the question she’d been hoping to hear. “She came into my room and asked me if I’d like to be adopted. Those words made me so happy – it wasn’t a hard decision to say yes right away,” Sydney recalls.

At 12, Sydney was one of the approximately 350 older children and teens waiting to be adopted in British Columbia. Raised by a single parent with health issues, the girl had entered the foster care system two years earlier when her birth father was no longer able to care for her. The Nachtigalls were her first foster family.

“When I came here, it was different from what I had expected. Everyone welcomed me with open arms and I didn’t feel afraid or uncomfortable,” says Sydney. “They are such considerate and loving people. They were very kind to me from the beginning.”

At that time, Bev and Wally Nachtigall had already raised four biological children, fostered countless others and adopted two of their former foster daughters. When Sydney became available for adoption, the couple knew they wanted to offer her the stability, love and support of a forever family.

“We chose to foster and then adopt because we love children and wanted to give back,” says Bev. “Adopting our daughters has been such a gift to our family – there’s a great deal of satisfaction in knowing we’ve helped to improve their lives.”

Sydney’s older sister, Tamara, couldn’t agree more. The recent high school graduate is also a talented artist who was adopted by the Nachtigall family as a two-year-old foster child. Tamara is well aware of how different her life would be had she not been adopted.

“The opportunities we’ve been given – good schools, piano, art, horseback riding and other activities – were made possible by our adoptive parents,” she explains. “I don’t know what I would do without them. Their support and the way they raised me has made me who I am today. I’m not sure I would have ended up as well-adjusted without their love and encouragement.”

While Sydney and Tamara enjoy relationships with their birth parents – Tamara’s birth mother is a long-time friend of the family, while Sydney’s birth dad remains an important part of her life – both girls are firmly entrenched in their adoptive family and consider the Nachtigalls their parents. They realize Bev and Wally’s decision to adopt them represents a lifelong commitment to giving them the permanence that every child deserves.

“Being adopted means you know you aren’t going anywhere – it makes me feel safe,” says Sydney. “My mom and dad mean a lot to me because they provide for all of their kids and they care for all of us equally, whether or not we are their biological children.”

Tamara concurs, answering in the typical manner of an affectionate older sister.

“Being in a permanent family means that nothing can take their place – we are all irreplaceable. That even applies to my little sister, Sydney. She’s a little annoying, a little loud but no one could ever take her place in our family.”

There are more than 1,000 B.C. children in care waiting for the love, stability and security of a forever home, including teenagers, those with special needs and siblings. If you’re looking to build your family, visit 1000familiesbc.com or call 1 877 ADOPT- 07.

Quick Facts:

• This year’s provincial budget for adoption services is $27.7 million, up $1.1 million from last year.
• Currently, there are approximately 1,000 B.C. children in care waiting to be adopted.
• Potential adoptive parents come from diverse backgrounds and have a range of life experiences. Any B.C. resident 19 years of age or oilder who is interested in providing a loving, nurturing home may be eligible to adopt.
• Over the past 10 years, an annual average of approximately 270 children have been adopted in British Columbia.
• Approximately 42% of adopted children are adopted by their foster family.
• Many of the children and youth still waiting for adoption are school age. They may be siblings who need to stay together. Some may have special placement needs due to difficult early childhood experiences, prenatal exposure to alcohol or drugs, learning delays or other developmental challenges.
• In September 2015, Grand Chief Ed John was appointed senior advisor on Aboriginal child welfare to the Minister of Children and Family Development. His role is to assist in finding forever families for a greater number of Aboriginal youth in care through adoption, guardianship or other options.
• For a list of Adoption Awareness Month events taking place in communities throughout B.C., visit: https://www.bcadoption.com/all-events

Learn More:

Adoption Awareness Month video: https://youtu.be/FY_kbmxjMZo 

Adoptive Families Association of BC: www.bcadoption.com

B.C. Federation of Foster Parent Associations: www.bcfosterparents.ca/

Federation of BC Youth in Care Networks: fbcyicn.ca

Contact the Adoption Reunion Registry toll‐free at 1 877 387‐3660 or visit: www.mcf.gov.bc.ca/adoption/reunion/index.htm