She has no regrets about the family she picked. Maria sees Isabella on a regular basis, including holidays. She was excited to show me her collection of photographs from the adoptive parents.

“She’s so beautiful,” Maria proudly said.

What pains Maria is the lack of support from her own family. If they had responded differently to the news of her pregnancy, perhaps adoption would not have been the only option.

“I wish I would have sat down with them more and worked something out,” Maria said. “We could have worked something out.”

Maria is happy for Isabella. She respects and admires her daughter’s adoptive parents. However, on certain days, Maria finds herself daydreaming. She gets emotional, grabbing for a tissue, as she explains how she wonders what motherhood would have been like.

Behind the Scenes Dispatch by: Mary Duke, a member of the EngageWisconsin team

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PARTICIPATE: WPT’s EngageWisconsin team invites any Wisconsin resident with a personal story about adoption to participate. Whether you are a birth parent, an adoptee, a social worker, an adoptive parent, a sibling to an adoptee, etc., we welcome and value all your stories related to adoption. If this opportunity interests you, please contact Mary Duke for more information.

ABOUT ADOPTION STORIES — Wisconsin is one of the most prevalent states for both domestic and international adoptions to occur. Unfortunately, there are also some 1,244 children currently in foster care, waiting to be placed in a permanent home. Between those adults choosing to adopt, children who have been adopted already, and the many children waiting for an adoptive home, it is clear that adoption is a huge part of Wisconsin’s family dynamics, affecting the lives of many of our fellow residents.

Inspired by that fact and “Adoption Stories: Inside Wisconsin Families” seeks to tell the stories of those affected by adoption within our home state of Wisconsin. As the EngageWisconsin team produces this project, you can join us Behind-The-Scene through dispatches posted by our journalists. Click here to see an archive of ADOPTION STORIES dispatches.

Of the dozen or so places, I stopped by the Tallman House, Rotary Gardens, Lions Beach, and the Janesville Performing Arts Center. Most of these places were closed by the time I got there, but there were still plenty of people around the city and by the river as sunset approached.

I also visited the GM plant, Lemans, and Leer. The contrast between the city’s quiet activity and the deserted parking lots of these companies was striking. A reminder of what used to be.

Behind the Scenes Dispatch by:
Zahra Haider, a member of the EngageWisconsin team

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PARTICIPATE: If you are a resident of Janesville, Wisconsin, or Rock County and you’re interested in sharing your story or the story of your business or organization, please contact Zahra Haider for more information. More specifically, we are also looking for high school students who might be interested in using a Flip camera to interview their family, friends, and neighbors to tell the story of their life in Janesville.

The JANESVILLE STORYTELLING PROJECT has been inspired by Digital Nation, a Frontline documentary, and Milwaukee-based 371 Production’s As Goes Janesville. Wisconsin Public Television’s EngageWisconsin team seeks to give a face to the current, post-GM situation in Janesville; to give the community a chance to respond to that negative press from the recent past, which frequently depicted Janesville as a permanently ruined city; and to explore the relationship of technology and people within a Mid-American city in flux.

The first and second stops on our tour were at the East High Youth Farm and the Glendale Elementary School Garden. At the East High Youth Farm, students from local schools receive hands-on science lessons and provide food for the local Goodman Food Pantry. As we walked by rows of onions and potatoes, I spoke with Taylor, a recent East High graduate who dedicated many hours to the garden this year. Initially, she was seeking a leadership position in the school and joined the class as a second semester teaching assistant. However, the self-proclaimed “not outdoorsy” teen has learned much more than leadership.

“I never thought I would have liked it, Taylor said. “There was so much digging and things I had never done before. It’s really nice though, I’ve found I really enjoy it.”

Behind the Scenes Dispatch by:
Lauren Knoche, a member of the EngageWisconsin team

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PARTICIPATE: Are you a Wisconsin resident who actively seeks to become self-sustainable? Are you attempting to make your life as green as possible, working to decrease your carbon imprint? Do you participate – on any level – in community gardens or Community Share Agriculture? If you can answer yes to any of the above and you’re willing to share your story, please contact Lauren Knoche via email – lauren.knoche@engagewisconsin.org – for more information.

SUSTAINABLE WISCONSIN is inspired by recent the POV documentary Food, Inc., as well as the current social trends of “sustainability” and “green living” shown through Wisconsin Public Television’s Wisconsin Foodie and In Wisconsin. This project will work to support the themes of sustainable agriculture discussed in these films by collecting stories from citizens working to make their lives and communities more “green.” Sustainable Wisconsin will focus on Community Supported Agriculture, Community Gardens, and Initiatives dedicated to making food in our state healthier and more sustainable. Sustainable Wisconsin also has a You & How To project, a participatory section which will share contributor’s and viewer’s opinions and “how to” advice on becoming more green.

As the event concluded, families left the picnic area to admire the zoo animals. As Meiners picked trash off the ground, cleaning up after her guests, she was still smiling.

Behind the Scenes Dispatch by:
Mary Duke, a member of the EngageWisconsin team

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PARTICIPATE: WPT’s EngageWisconsin team invites any Wisconsin resident with a personal story about adoption to participate. Whether you are a birth parent, an adoptee, a social worker, an adoptive parent, a sibling to an adoptee, etc., we welcome and value all your stories related to adoption. If this opportunity interests you, please contact Mary Duke for more information.

ABOUT ADOPTION STORIES — Wisconsin is one of the most prevalent states for both domestic and international adoptions to occur. Unfortunately, there are also some 1,244 children currently in foster care, waiting to be placed in a permanent home. Between those adults choosing to adopt, children who have been adopted already, and the many children waiting for an adoptive home, it is clear that adoption is a huge part of Wisconsin’s family dynamics, affecting the lives of many of our fellow residents.

Inspired by that fact and “Adoption Stories: Inside Wisconsin Families” seeks to tell the stories of those affected by adoption within our home state of Wisconsin. As the EngageWisconsin team produces this project, you can join us Behind-The-Scene through dispatches posted by our journalists. Click here to see an archive of ADOPTION STORIES dispatches.

Behind the Scenes Dispatch by:
Amelia Pisapia, a member of the EngageWisconsin team

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HOW YOU CAN PARTICIPATE: Were you -or- do you know of someone who is/was a Wisconsin resident and in the circus? If your answer is yes, please contact Amelia Pisapia to learn more about how you can get involved in WPT’s digital storytelling project, chronicling Wisconsin’s unique circus history. In particular, she is looking for Wisconsin residents presently or previously involved in clowning or other circus-related acts.

BIG TOP WISCONSIN: a Digital Circus Storytelling Project — Despite the advent of television, video games, and the internet, the circus continues to excite the imaginations of people of all ages. The PBS series Circus will provide a modern-day glimpse into the inner-workings of this unique cultural phenomenon. “Big Top Wisconsin” is inspired by Wisconsin’s distinct role in the development of the circus in the United States.

Will and Kathy Krantz, a couple who has been married for 45 years, run their used bookstore as a retirement endeavor. The business began on the internet in 1998, but became a walk-in store in 2001 when the Krantz’s moved to Janesville. We talked about the challenges they’re currently facing, but also the importance of continuing to keep their doors open in Janesville.

“It’s not only because of the customers that come on a regular basis,” says Will, “but it’s to have something downtown when someone from Chicago or one of the suburbs is taking a daytrip and wants to go somewhere. This is a good destination; if there’s nothing open, why would they come?”

Behind the Scenes Dispatch by:
Zahra Haider, a member of the EngageWisconsin team

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PARTICIPATE: If you are a resident of Janesville, Wisconsin, or Rock County and you’re interested in sharing your story or the story of your business or organization, please contact Zahra Haider via email for more information. More specifically, we are also looking for high school students who might be interested in using a Flip camera to interview their family, friends, and neighbors to tell the story of their life in Janesville.

The JANESVILLE STORYTELLING PROJECT has been inspired by Digital Nation, a Frontline documentary, and Milwaukee-based 371 Production’s As Goes Janesville. Wisconsin Public Television’s EngageWisconsin team seeks to give a face to the current, post-GM situation in Janesville; to give the community a chance to respond to that negative press from the recent past, which frequently depicted Janesville as a permanently ruined city; and to explore the relationship of technology and people within a Mid-American city in flux.

We sat on the grey sofa as Donna told her story. She was 21 years old when she found out she was pregnant. She didn’t go through an agency, like most, to find her son a home. Instead, her therapist recommended a couple to Donna. Reflecting on her adoption process, Donna said she feels anger and guilt. She wishes she would have explored different adoption options and regrets following her therapist’s advice. Justin was placed with a couple who, at the time, were seeing Donna’s therapist for marriage counseling. He was adopted as a newborn. His adoptive parents got a divorce when he was nine. Donna’s hopes of placing her son with a loving, happy couple were crushed.

Justin, now 24, is currently in federal prison on drug and weapon charges. Donna said she wonders if Justin’s fate would have been different if she had raised him herself. She smiled and explained that even though the situation is not an entirely happy one, there is a silver lining: they are pen pals.

Justin and Donna write to one another as much as possible. They talk about programs on TV and articles they’ve read in magazines. Donna started to laugh as she told me that Justin asked for her in finding a female pen pal. “It feels good to know that he wants to make the effort,” Donna said.

Behind the Scenes Dispatch by:
Mary Duke, a member of the EngageWisconsin team

_______________________________

>PARTICIPATE: WPT’s EngageWisconsin team invites any Wisconsin resident with a personal story about adoption to participate. Whether you are a birth parent, an adoptee, a social worker, an adoptive parent, a sibling to an adoptee, etc., we welcome and value all your stories related to adoption. If this opportunity interests you, please contact Mary Duke for more information. Email: mary.duke@engagewisconsin.org

ABOUT ADOPTION STORIES — Wisconsin is one of the most prevalent states for both domestic and international adoptions to occur. Unfortunately, there are also some 1,244 children currently in foster care, waiting to be placed in a permanent home. Between those adults choosing to adopt, children who have been adopted already, and the many children waiting for an adoptive home, it is clear that adoption is a huge part of Wisconsin’s family dynamics, affecting the lives of many of our fellow residents.

Inspired by that fact and “Adoption Stories: Inside Wisconsin Families” seeks to tell the stories of those affected by adoption within our home state of Wisconsin. As the EngageWisconsin team produces this project, you can join us Behind-The-Scene through dispatches posted by our journalists. Click here to see an archive of ADOPTION STORIES dispatches.