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FAMILY CAMP 2025

Save the date for Family Camp 2025: July 31st - August 3rd.

This year we are pleased to announce that we will be back to Ohio University in Athens.

As always, we will create space for deep learning and development as well as moments for joy and connection.   Together, we will work to soften the sharp edges of exclusion that come with adoption, family separation and differences of race.  Together, with our amazing presenters, counselors and staff, we will co-create the brightest path to belonging for the children entrusted to you through adoption, for you as parents and for your extended family.

Camp will be held July 31 - August 3 at Ohio University and registration will be opening soon!  Please note, we can only accept a limited number of families.  A completed online registration and payment secures your spot at camp. We will create a waiting list once camp sells out.

TRJ was born out of the need for greater understanding of and support for transracially adopted persons and their families in all stages of life and sectors of society. Founded by an adoptive parent in 2013, TRJ began hosting a 4-day family camp for the Black and Brown adopted children and their white adoptive parents to come together to explore issues of adoption, identity, and race with the support of counselors for the children and outside speakers for the adults. Children and their parents found a safe space to have challenging discussions, friendships developed, and a geographically dispersed community took root.

TRJ Annual Family Camp continues to be our primary programming and highlight of the year. Families return year after year. New families join. Older campers became counselors-in-training and then counselors.

Post-Adoption Resources

As there are few resources in the adoption field that specifically provide post-adoption support for transracial families, TRJ has developed additional online and physical resources for families to successfully navigate issues all year long.

● TRJ Monthly Email Newsletter with articles related to the monthly themes connected to transracial adoption, celebrates Black excellence, and highlights books that integrate adoption into the story.  SUBSCRIBE TO OUR EMAIL NEWSLETTER

● TRJ texting platform. Text "TRJ" to 866-578-0568 to get real time information. Message and Data rates may apply.

● TRJ Monthly Parent Meet-ups to talk with other adoptive parents about the monthly theme or adoption-related issues that are happening in your life. (Zoom link provided in our monthly email newsletter)

● TRJ/June-in-April Activity Deck has a card for each month of the year that connects with the monthly theme and poses corresponding questions, conversation starters, or prompts for having more regular and intentional conversations about adoption, identity and differences of race. The cards are designed for children to ask parents the questions and spark reflections and conversations. (Email info@transracialjourneys.org for more information)

● TRJ Consulting Support to organize a mini-TRJ Camp in your area in collaboration with your local social service/post-adoption support agency. (Email info@transracialjourneys.org for more information)

Why We Exist

Adoption is often spoken about in terms of love and gratitude, but the reality is more layered. Transracially adopted children grow up navigating profound questions of identity, belonging, and cultural connection—often in families and communities that don’t fully understand their lived experience. Without intentional support, these children can feel isolated in both their racial and adoptive identities, caught between worlds that don’t always see or affirm them.

This is why TRJ exists. We are more than an organization—we are a movement, a home, and a place of transformation. TRJ ensures that transracially adopted persons and their families don’t have to navigate this journey alone. We provide spaces where transracially adopted persons can be fully seen and heard, where parents can grow in their ability to support children, and where community becomes the foundation for healing, identity, and empowerment.

Latest from Our Newsletter

Book Corner – April 2025, Becoming Vanessa

Becoming Vanessa by Vanessa Brantley-Newton Ages 3-6 During a month that we focus on the significance of names for transracial adoptees, Becoming Vanessa, by Vanessa Brantley-Newton feels like a relevant recommendation. Vanessa wants to feel special on her first day of school, but everything goes wrong. The outfit she picked is too fancy, and her name has too many letters. She shares her sad feelings with her parents, who help her discover how special her name is – and how read more

Expanding Identity Through Names

By April Dinwoodie Names carry weight. They are an introduction, an inheritance, a declaration of who we are—and sometimes, who others hope we’ll become. How Our Understanding of Names in Adoption Has Grown For those of us connected to adoption, names often sit at the intersection of identity, relationship, and lived experience. And like so much else in adoption, the way we think about names has changed over time. In the 1970s, during the height of the closed adoption era, read more

Reclaiming Our Family Narrative: Setting Boundaries & Building Belonging

By April Dinwoodie Transracial adoptive families represent diversity in a world that is constantly observing—even while professing, it doesn’t “see color.” This reality makes it imperative that transracially adopted children are protected from the micro and macro aggressions they face by parents setting intentional, empowering boundaries. As a parent navigating the winding roads of adoption and identity, I’ve learned that fostering belonging begins with establishing clear, non-negotiable limits on what we accept from others. Defining Our Space in a Noisy read more

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