While the foster care children of New York City and Los Angeles becamepart of a forever family, more than 4,000 children across all 50 states alsohad their wishes come true.

Saturday's courtrooms were filled with happy families and smiling childrensurrounded by their favorite Disney and "Sesame Street" characters, food andfun. The New York-based Ortiz-Torres-Fonseca family was the first adoption tobe finalized on National Adoption Day. Johnathan Torres, the eldest of theOrtiz-Torres-Fonseca family to be adopted, put in perspective what children onNational Adoption Day feel to be placed in a permanent home.

"Today, I'm very excited because today we're actually being adopted after7 years in the system," said Torres. "There's hard times and there's easytimes, but today is actually one of those days that will actually make youforget those times and bring all the happiness that the future will bring."

As National Adoption Day's 2008 host city, New York City kicked off the2008 event with a press conference and celebration, which included RitaSoronen, executive director of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption andfounding sponsor of National Adoption Day; Judge Joseph M. Lauria,administrative judge; Victoria Rowell, actress ("The Young and the Restless"and "Home of the Brave") and New York Times bestseller; the New York CityFamily Court and the Ortiz-Torres-Fonseca family.

"New York City is committed to placing children with adults who canprovide them with a loving, supportive home and family," said Mayor MichaelBloomberg. "We are especially focused on ensuring that older youth and thosein residential settings are able to find and remain in permanent adoptiveplacements. Our city is full of wonderful, capable people who can providestrong, loving families and the New York City Administration for Children'sServices will continue its steady work of finding new and innovative ways toencourage and facilitate adoptions."

Los Angeles' event received the support of major film and TV celebritiesincluding Lucy Liu ("Charlie's Angels" and "Dirty Sexy Money"), Nia Vardalos("My Big Fat Greek Wedding") and Willie Garson ("Sex and the City"). NationalAdoption Day Los Angeles is organized each year by The Alliance for Children'sRights (ACR), one of the founders of National Adoption Day in 2000. Liu,Vardalos and Garson also helped by assisting ACR attorneys with the adoptionceremonies for several families. Los Angeles is the birthplace of NationalAdoption Day, modeled on the Adoption Saturday program created by Judge Nash11 years ago to expedite foster care adoptions in the county.

Nia Vardalos and her husband recently adopted a child from foster care.Vardalos decided to share her family's story on National Adoption Day insupport of the thousands of children who are waiting for homes and to buildawareness against adoption myths.

"The common misconception is it's expensive and complicated to adopt inthe United States and you have to go out of the country," Vardalos said. "Thisis not true. Adopting in the United States through foster care is very simpleand virtually free. I feel people don't know how to do it because theinformation is missing."

The National Adoption Day Coalition works tirelessly throughout the yearwith hundreds of communities and thousands of volunteers to dispel the mythsabout adopting from foster care and to raise awareness about the 129,000children in need of adoptive families. The day also builds collaboration amonglocal adoption agencies, courts and advocacy organizations and communicatesthe availability and need for post-adoptive services.

"Once again, I am amazed and so proud of the thousands of volunteers,community officials and advocates who came together to make National AdoptionDay a success and are spreading the word of foster care adoption all yearround," said Rita Soronen. "But, as the balloons fall to the floor and thecelebrations come to a close, there is still a need to place the 129,000children waiting in the foster care system for a permanent home. Sadly, eachyear, nearly 26,000 of those youths will age out of the system when they turn18 with no family to support them in the future."

To hear more from Soronen on National Adoption Day, click here:http://www.nationaladoptionday.org/2008/video/nad_video.asp

National Adoption Day was sponsored by a coalition dedicated to improvingthe lives of children, including The Alliance for Children's Rights, CaseyFamily Services, Children's Action Network, The Congressional Coalition onAdoption Institute, Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption and the Freddie MacFoundation. For more information about the events that took place across theUnited States and information on National Adoption Day 2009, please visitwww.nationaladoptionday.org.

SOURCE National Adoption Day Coalition