The Heart Gallery of Tampa is a bubble of hope for kids in the foster care system, featuring professional portraits of children looking for a new home and forever family.
The Heart Gallery, founded over two decades ago, was the passion project of a photographer and a social worker looking to help kids get adopted.
Posting photos in a local gallery helped showcase the faces of kids up for adoption. After the first girl was adopted as a result of being featured in the gallery, the project took off.
“So, then it was like this ‘aha’ moment that these kids need to be seen,” Lindsay Hermida, Heart Gallery of Tampa executive director, said. “And the community needs to know that they’re here and that they’re waiting.”
Through the gallery, Hermida and her team have helped educate the community and raise awareness for the kids who need help finding a family.
The Heart Gallery of Tampa features those in the system who may have a more difficult time getting adopted, such as large sibling groups, kids with medical needs and teenagers.
“There’s just a lot of preconceived notions and myths and things like that about foster care and about the process,” Hermida said.
The Heart Gallery of Tampa began hosting informational sessions for families looking to start the adoption process on Zoom. The next event is on Saturday, August 24.
“What’s really special about the Heart Gallery is it’s very positive,” Hermida said.
Hermida said the gallery is a positive bubble that provides a glimmer of hope within a very sad foster care system filled with kids who have survived trauma and bad situations.
“And despite all of that, they still have this hope that they’re going to find a family and that they’re going to have a better life,” she said.
In addition to highlighting the kids looking for a new family, the Heart Gallery collects donations to support activities, such as proms, baseball games and birthday parties, for kids.
For more information on the Heart Gallery of Tampa, to donate or to register for one of its informational sessions, visit https://heartgallerytampa.org/. To learn more, call 813-930-5345.
