Our Story
Established in January 2019, The Park Adoption Community Center is the culmination of CCAI‘s extensive post-adoption support work. With the combination of educational and responsive post-adoption support programs — including Joyous Chinese Cultural School and Adopteen — and the addition of new, broader adoption support programming, The Park is determined to continue pushing and challenging the landscape of post-adoption support; providing accessible adoption engagement opportunities that inspire communities to create effective support systems for adoptees and their families.
With programming that promotes and reinforces healthy connections, youth empowerment, identity affirmation and resilience, cultural competency, and community engagement, we are dedicated to providing a lifetime of support – for the easy moments, the hard, and everything in between. We know that adoption finalization is only the beginning of a lifelong journey and The Park is here to walk with you.
The Park operates out of our main office in Centennial, CO, but coordinates many programs, both in person and virtual, that reach our national and international audiences. We are so happy you found us. We cannot wait to meet you!
Our Mission
The Park is here to provide lifelong resources that help empower and nurture adopted individuals and their families to grow and thrive.
our Programs
Although The Park is quite new, many of our key programs come with their own beautiful histories that inspire and educate us as we continue to push the envelope and develop new support opportunities. Learn more about the “tallest trees” in this little park of ours below!
Joyous Chinese Cultural School
The Joyous Chinese Cultural School (JCCS) opened its doors in 1996 with eight students, two teachers, and one mission in mind – To provide Chinese adoptees and adoptive families of CCAI with a sense of belonging and pride in their own/their children’s heritage. From the beginning, it was clear that JCCS was something special, something beautiful. It was not just a language school or a dance school. It was a place where adoptees and their families could come, share, and connect and feel truly comfortable exploring and growing together in their identities and their community.
Today, JCCS remains dedicated to providing positive and engaging cultural education opportunities for adoptees and their families through weekly classes, workshops, field trips, and day camps to help maintain strong birth heritage connections and cultivate a healthy sense of self. The Joyous Chinese Cultural School has set the standard for how cultural education and support should look for adoptees and The Park is excited to continue its trailblazing mission and expand it to help support more diverse communities.
Although its heart is primarily rooted in adoption support, JCCS classes are also wonderful opportunities for any non-Native Chinese families to engage with and celebrate China’s rich and vibrant culture.
Adopteen
Founded in 2007, Adopteen is a 100% adoptee-centric, adoptee-organized operation with the mission to build a community by and for teenage adoptees to celebrate and inspire each other and take pride in where they have been, where they are, and where they are going. It was a mission built on the need for a dedicated safe space for adopted teens to connect without reservations. Adopteen was never a program that claimed to know the answers. Adoptees and only adoptees are the driving force and inspiration behind everything Adopteen puts into action and it is this passionate spirit that continues to push them to explore the good, the bad, and the complex, confidently and purposefully throughout their programming.
With a community of over 7,000 adoptees, spanning four countries and growing every day, Adopteen has coordinated 24 national conferences and retreats in 16 different states/provinces since 2007 and has extended its mission beyond teen connections with the introduction of AdopTween (ages 7-12), Beyond Adopteen (adult adoptees 18+), and Adoptees Giving Back Orphanage Service Trips to emphasize the need for mentorship and service in the adoptee community.
