CULLMAN – Local couple Jared and Brittney Hopper are on a journey of a lifetime. After struggling for years with the difficulty and pain associated with infertility, the young Hoppers decided to open their minds and their hearts to the possibility of adoption.
Brittney Hopper said, “Together, we decided to shift our focus. I mean of course we would love nothing more than to be able to bring a newborn baby into this world together, but for now, it just wasn’t an option. Why would we not want to love a child that is already here and needing a family? Why would we not want to provide a loving home to a child who has nowhere to go and nobody to love them? Why would we not want to make one less orphan in the world? We decided that adoption was our calling.”
That’s when the respiratory therapist and her husband began to think outside the box and outside of the country.
“We are so excited to begin our journey. We have prayed and set our hearts on foreign adoption from China. We are super excited to be able to provide a loving and caring home to a child that is already in this world and needs us just as much as we need them!
“We are blessed to be a part of an awesome church and we have amazing family and friends who support and believe in us. A popular saying in the adoption community says, ‘The world may not change if you adopt a child but, for that child, their world will change.’ These words could not be more true. We are getting so close to making our adoption dream a reality.”
Jared Hopper, after working as a sheriff’s deputy for nine years, now works as the Cullman County Revenue Sales Tax Enforcement Officer and Brittney Hopper commutes to Children’s of Alabama in Birmingham every day. Adoption, both stateside and internationally, is an expensive process and can cost upwards of $36,000 before the adoption tax credit is applied. Even after the credit, a family can be looking at almost $23,000 in out-of-pocket expenses. And, the tax credit is not guaranteed.
To help defray the expenses, a yard sale is being held this Friday and Saturday, July 15-16, inside Building One at the Cullman County Fairgrounds by Sportsman Lake. The sale will be going on from 7 a.m.- 4 p.m. each day.
“We are working hard to have as much of our funds as ready as possible. We are truly thankful for every dollar that we receive. Adoption can be expensive,” said Brittney Hopper. “Any amount helps and it is so awesome to know that many different people are taking a part in our journey to help bring our baby home. We will be eternally grateful for every donation we receive, but we also ask for an abundance of prayers. We believe in the power of prayer!”
Cullman County Fairgrounds are located at 1501 Sportsman Lake Road NW in the city of Cullman.
