KSU Alumna Shelby Jenkins Named Ambassador for Adoption Is Beautiful Campaign

Adoption is Beautiful is a national movement organized by Adoption-Share,  a 501 (c) 3 tax-exempt organization and orchestrated in partnership with adoption agencies, online influencers, and adoption organizations from all over the United States each year, to ignite a positive and an informative conversation about adoption in the United States. Stories move us in powerful ways and this campaign will give those impacted by adoption a platform to share their story.

Raising Awareness About Adoption

This year, Adoption-Share is teaming up with Kentucky State University graduate Shelby Jenkins and Warner Brother’s new animated film “Storks,” which began in theaters on September 23, to raise awareness about adoption in the United States.

“Storks deliver babies …or at least they used to. Now they deliver packages for a global internet retail giant. Junior (Andy Samberg), the company’s top delivery stork, is about to be promoted when he accidentally activates the Baby Making Machine, producing an adorable and wholly unauthorized  baby girl. Desperate to deliver this bundle of trouble before the boss gets wise, Junior and his friend Tulip, the only human on Stork Mountain, race to make their first-ever baby drop – in a wild and revealing journey that could make more than one family whole and restore the storks’ true mission in the world.”(storksmovie.com)

Shelby Jenkins’ Story

The threads that are interwoven in the film touch on many of the same values that the adoption community celebrates; values that include the importance of family, belonging, hope, perseverance, faith, and most importantly love. By partnering with “Storks” and Miss Texas US International, Adoption-Share wishes to advance a much-needed conversation about adoption in the United States, celebrate the values of family, belonging, and love and draw awareness to the over 100,000 children waiting to find their forever families. Adopted at 19 months old, Shelby wasn’t always open about her story.

“I was 10 years old when my parents told me I was adopted. I remember being fearful of sharing my story with others because I didn’t want people to look at me differently. It wasn’t until I was in college and found myself on a pageant stage that I found my voice and shared my story.” -Shelby Jenkins

After sharing her story for the first time, Shelby found more than her voice, she discovered an underrepresented platform to champion adoption for children in foster care, and a calling to equip children in foster care with opportunities to fulfill their dreams. As Ambassador for Adoption-Share’s Adoption is Beautiful Campaign and in Partnership with STORKS, Shelby will encourage others to share their stories of how adoption has impacted their lives by using the hashtag #storkstory and through posting submissions at adoptionisbeautiful.org

Join us online at adoptionisbeautiful.org to share how adoption has impacted your life or for information on how to begin the adoption process.

Source: Kentucky State University