Transracial Journeys Calendar and Cards Gift Set

Our Executive Director, April Dinwoodie, has created a calendar and a deck of conversation cards to help families make space for ongoing conversations about adoption and differences of race and culture. The Transracial Journeys card deck contains 3 cards for each month. Parents are encouraged to use these cards for quiet reflection as the children start conversations with their parents by asking the questions. Some families leave the deck somewhere visible and pick a card at random and some families follow the monthly prompts.

No matter how you use your cards, you’ll find a pathway to a more active and authentic holding of the complexities of transracial adoption so you and your family can live with authenticity, purpose, and joy. On this page is an example of the questions for January.

As April Dinwoodie writes in her January 2024 post, Reflections: Entry Point for Living Fully with Authenticity and Purpose as an Adoptive Family, :

Start by encouraging an environment where questions and discussions about adoption and race are welcomed and encouraged. It’s important for children to feel safe in expressing their feelings and curiosities. This always starts with you. So often, I hear parents say – “my child never asks me questions” or “they never really want to talk about adoption or our differences”. Almost always the questions are there but the space to explore them is not.

Getting more into the flow of ongoing conversation requires commitment from parents and caregivers as well as resources to support the effort. Use books, movies, and cultural events as tools to celebrate your child’s heritage and your family’s multiculturalism. This not only helps them connect with their roots but also aids the whole family in understanding and appreciating culture, ethnicity and heritage more holistically. Check out our book corner and conversation cards as you continually add to your tool kit.

Helps Identify Issues We May Not Always See

"I really enjoy these cards. It's a reminder every month to be cognizant of the challenges of having a family two different races. We can only see what we can see and these cards help identify issues we may not always see. Each month gives a new topic to ponder and to discuss. It starts off giving some direction to the adults and then allows the children to take the lead in the subsequent cards for the month. There's no reason they can't be used year after year. Awesome idea."

-Stephen, TRJ Dad

Important to Me and My Family

"I think I've been coming to Transracial Journeys Family Camp for seven or eight years. I always look forward to seeing everyone. It feels like family when we're all together. Camp is a lot of fun and it's important to me and my family!"

-NB, TRJ Camper and Camp Counselor

Tools and Ideas to Incorporate Right Away

"My son was just 3 years old when we found Transracial Journeys Camp. I wasn’t even sure what I needed to ask about or what I expected to get from the experience. Over the past 7 years Transracial Journeys has armed me with knowledge – how to care for his hair, how to advocate for his unique needs at school, how to seek out cultural experiences that will build his pride of his racial identity. We have been able to find a barber where I am the minority when we walk in but he is surrounded by men who look like him – it was because of TRJ camps support that I came to understand how important it is that I have the responsibility to help him develop the skills to navigate his future world.

I return home from camp every summer with tools and ideas to incorporate right away and, just as importantly, we make new deep and supportive friendships with others who are having similar experiences as a transracial family and understand our needs and issues. Transracial Journey camp is the high point of our summer. I cannot imagine how I could raise my son without the resources it has provided to me."

-Sheila, TRJ Mom

Shown Our Children They Are Not Alone

"Transracial Journeys has shown our children that there are other families that look like us—families with white parents & African American children. TJ has also shown our children that that they are not alone and that there are many other adopted children out there. TJ has also helped us as parents to understand our white privilege and some of the obstacles our children face as people of color. For all of these reasons and more, I feel that TJ has been transformative for our family."

-Sharon, TRJ Mom

"All of the Families Looked Like Us"

"I have been coming to Transracial Journeys Family Camp for five years now, and after my first year I made a commitment to myself and to my children that we would return every year as long we were able to make the trip. After our first camp experience, someone asked my son, ... 5 years old, what he liked most about camp. His reply was simply, "all of the families looked like us." That was enough for me to know it was worth it… Knowing there are others along this (sometimes) very difficult journey with me, who have the same hopes and dreams for our brown skinned children and worry as they navigate through the society we live in - will they be treated unfairly in the classroom? Is now the right time to start talking to my 10 year old son about what to do when one day he is pulled over by the police? How do I become my children's best advocate, as a daughter of white privilege, when I am often too afraid to find my own voice? At Transracial Journeys, I find "my people" who help me navigate this journey; I get to learn from professional transracial adoptees who are there to mentor us, without judging. My children are developing skills to ward off all of the well-meaning but overly nosy people who ask too many questions about their adoption stories, and are forming some very special friendships that may just last a lifetime."

-Annie, TRJ Mom

Enabled Me to See... Challenges We Face

"I am grandfather to four children, two of whom are children of color. It is my hearts desire to support my daughter and son-in-law and their choice to create a transracial family. Sharing the experience of Transracial Journeys Family Camp with them has enabled me to see more deeply and clearly the social and personal challenges we face as an extended family in raising our African-American children. There are many. It is inspiring to meet others with similar mission and vision. I am 68 yrs old and fully enjoying my role as elder to our children. Uncovering my own privilege has been a part of this journey. I look forward to returning for my fourth Transracial Journeys-Family Camp."

-Grandpa Bob, TRJ Grandfather

TRJ