When I take the time to recommend donating to a crowd-funder, it’s usually to support a producer trying to make their fan film dream come true. But today’s blog is about a fan film actress and helping her and her husband make their dream of adopting a baby come true.
ALEX REXFORD is the amazing actress who took over the role of Micheala Allenby in THE AVALON UNIVERSE, making her very memorable fan film debut in CRISIS ON INFINITE EXCALIBURS at the end of last year.
Alex will appear again in an upcoming TALES FROM THE NEUTRAL ZONE release next month, and later this year, Alex will star in the Avalon series finale THE ONCE AND FUTURE CAPTAIN.
But now Alex and her husband Peter are ready for a different role: being parents. But they need our help.
People who have never adopted a child often ask: “Why does it cost so much?” Adopting a child can range between $25K and $50K!!! There are many reasons for this. In the case of my wife and I adopting our son Jayden 13 and a half years ago, costs included:
- A California adoption attorney ($12K) because there are so many legal rstrictions that vary by state.
- A California adoption agency ($5K), required for us to register with under California law.
- Costs for medical exams, maternity clothing, food, rent, car maintenance, etc. for not one but two birth mothers (as we had a mom change her mind at the last minute—and no, they don’t give you back the thousands of dollars you gave them if they change their mind, and you can’t sue them for it because those were considered “gifts”…since buying a baby violates the 13th Amendment of the Constitution).
- Hiring a Louisiana adoption attorney and agency ($12K) at the last minute when Jayden’s birth mother went into labor 5 weeks early in Shreveport, LA, requiring us to fly there rather than flying her here to Los Angeles and therefore placing us under the regulations of the state of Louisiana, which requires an in-state adoption attorney and agency, among other things.
- A last-second flight from Los Angeles to Shreveport, hotel stay for ten days until the paperwork cleared with the secretaries of state of both LA and CA, and rental car for that entire time.
- Extra hospital costs, as Jayden needed to spend his first few days in the NICU (and because he wasn’t officially our son yet, insurance didn’t cover those costs!).
- Believe it or not, hiring a private investigator to track down the birth mother’s estranged husband (wanted or identity theft in Louisiana) in order for him to sign away his parental rights….even though he wasn’t even the real father! (Oh, don’t get me started on Louisiana’s “no bastards” law!)
I wish adoption were less expensive because I know how many couples can’t conceive and would love to adopt. And the costs of overseas adoption and/or IVF are comparable. Have your bank account full, and your credit card handy if you’re not able to make a baby in the more fun, old-fashioned way!
Wendy and I were lucky in that we had the financial means to afford all of this—although having the first birth mom change her mind, the premature birth of Jayden doubling our legal costs and hospital costs, and the frickin’ private investigator effectively made certain that Jayden would remain an only child. We couldn’t afford to go through the process again. But the rainbow at the end of our pot of gold was the most incredible baby boy and awesome son Wendy and I could ever have imagined! We would do it all again (and it was a 3-and-a-half year emotional rollercoaster for us) in a heartbeat knowing how many rewards were waiting for us.
And so, because of Wendy and my personal experiences with the costs of adopting a child, I am writing this blog to help Alex and her husband Peter afford their adoption. They aren’t as lucky as Wendy and I were to be able to handle all of the tens of thousands of dollars that this process will take from them. But with a baby due literally any day now—and likely headed for NICU, as well—they had no choice but to launch a GoFundMe campaign to cover their very significant costs. So far, they have raised $21,263 of a projected $35,000 goal in less than two months…which is amazing. But time is short.
Please watch their video below and consider giving a little something to help create a loving family for two deserving parents and a very deserving little “Baby Rex”…
https://www.gofundme.com/f/rexford-adoption-fund