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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

Black Excellence: Habeebah Rasheed Grimes

Habeebah Rasheed Grimes stands as a powerful embodiment of Black excellence, dedicating her life’s work to uplifting and healing vulnerable children, particularly within the Northeast Ohio community. As the Chief Executive Officer of the Positive Education Program (PEP), Grimes leads a dedicated staff of nearly 400 professionals committed to providing culturally affirming and trauma-informed care to young people who have experienced significant adversity and mental health challenges. Her journey is marked by a deep understanding of the impact of trauma, read more

Celebrating the Many Hands and Hearts That Hold Us: Part One – Honoring Motherhood in its Many Forms

By April Dinwoodie This spring, we’re offering a two-part series:Celebrating the Many Hands and Hearts That Hold Us — an exploration of what it means to honor family expansively through the lens of adoption. As an adopted person — and someone in deep community with others who share this experience — I know firsthand that Mother’s Day and Father’s Day can be powerful, complicated, and deeply emotional. Some years, Mother’s Day filled me with joy and gratitude. Other years, there read more

Mother’s Day: Family Titles, Roles, and Relationships

As a country we have been celebrating Mother’s Day since the 19th century, honoring women who play a pivotal role in the lives of children of any age. For some, Mother’s Day can bring feelings of both celebration and complexity. In adoption, mothers of origin or birth/first mothers play a vital role in the lives of children they are born to and separated from. It’s important that you have open and loving conversations about different ways mothers and mother figures read more

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