A General Update from BDO's website - Oct.30/09

General Update Friday October 30th
Time Period of October 15th – October 28th

Prepared by the Board of Directors

Since the last update on October 14, the new Board of Directors would like to advise you of the progress made in the on-going efforts to resume the operations of Imagine Adoption. The Board of Directors met in the last period on October 19th and then again on October 26th.

Office Update

The transition to the new office has not been as smooth as anticipated and we are still without phone lines as a result of service delivery issues with Rogers as well as other vendors. This delay has had some unintended consequences and it is with regret that as a result of the delays, we have not been able to open up the formal communication with families that we were all hoping for.

Although this delay is disappointing, progress is being made with the set-up of the office and we are all committed to having the operation up and running as soon as possible.

Moving forward, here is the key contact information that you have been asking for.

Mailing Address: 382 Queen Street West
Cambridge, Ontario N3C 1G8

Phone Number: 519-267-3841 (not yet operational)

Email Contacts: Jo Ann Barber joann@imagineadoption.ca
Valerie Goodyear val@imagineadoption.ca
Melissa Burke melissa@imagineadoption.ca


Ted Giesbrecht – Communication Update

During the bankruptcy, Ted Giesbrecht was retained by BDO Dunwoody to assist with the handling of families’ files during the process of determining the future of the agency. This was a beneficial relationship and a key component to the recovery of the agency.

Since the transition is nearing completion, Ted, his firm, as well as the Board of Directors are politely asking that all future communication from families be transitioned to the new office of Imagine Adoption. We acknowledge that our communication portals have taken longer to implement then we were hoping but we ask that all families start to use the above contact points for your direct inquiries.

To close on this point, on behalf of the Board of Directors, we would like to use this communication as a public acknowledgement and a sincere thank you to Ted and his entire office for the support and ongoing commitment that they have shown during the past 4 months. Words cannot express the gratitude that we all feel.



Travel Update:

We are pleased to have finalized the travel agenda for the working committee that will be leaving for Addis Ababa on October 30th and returning on November 9th. The committee consists of Valerie Goodyear, Christine Starr and Ted Giesbrecht.

As stated in the previous update, the mission for the visit will consist of the following items:

o Establishing and renewing orphanage contracts
o Evaluating current operations
o Assisting with the cases of children currently matched with families
o Relationship building with our partners that are critical to the overall success of the international adoption process

Retainer Agreement Update:

The process of drafting the formal retainer agreement is nearing completion and we are very close to having our draft copy approved. Once this happens, it will be a priority of the staff to have these documents sent out to the families. The date by which renewal fees must be paid under the retainer agreement is November 30th so rest assured that we are well positioned to achieve this goal as proposed.

Ghana Update

There will be an update posted early next week regarding the review of the adoption program for Ghana.


Respectfully, The Board of Directors