Mixed Root Foundation

Adoptee Holly Choon Hyang Bachman founded the Mixed Root Foundation  which “leverages philanthropy to provide more post adoption resources for adoptees and their families representative of the international, domestic, and foster care experience.”

They provide an adoptee mentor program. See here.

They have a teen adoptee group on Facebook called Adopteens. See here .

Awareness Nights with Professional Sports Teams

“In 1983, Bachman, who at the time was 3 1/2 years old and living in Korea, was adopted by an Owatonna family.

She grew up here, and in 1995, she visited Korea for the first time since her adoption.

“I rediscovered my cultural roots and identity and who I was,” Bachman said.

And she created a Mixed Roots cultural diversity group at the Owatonna High School.

In 2010, Bachman visited Korea again for a birth search. She visited the orphanage she attended, saw baby pictures, found her true birthdate and attended a Korean adoptee gathering.

Bachman’s experiences as a Korean adoptee and the lack of resources available to adoptees encouraged her to create the Mixed Roots Foundation, a national multicultural foundation that provides post-adoption resources to adoptees and their families.

“My passion has always been multicultural,” she said. “I’ve known my calling since sixth grade.”

Bachman said there are a lot of misconceptions about adoption.

“(People) think they don’t need any support because they are adopted, so that means they are wealthy,” she said.

And Bachman wants to help adoptees like her.

To do so, the Mixed Roots Foundation has teamed up with professional athletic teams to start the dialogue and raise awareness about adoption as well as raise funds for the foundation for post-adoption resources like scholarships, the global adoptee genealogy component, among others.

And the foundation has been working with the Minnesota Twins this year.

On Friday, the foundation will host its first adoptee night in Minnesota at the Twins game against the Houston Astros.

“We want to bring people together and raise awareness about the adoption experience,” Bachman said. “Adoption shouldn’t be about the process but about the person. This is a special night for adoptees.”

Bachman, who now lives in California, said Minnesota has the largest international adoption population, and there are 20,000 Korean adoptees in the state.

And aside from Minnesota being her home state, she said that statistic drew her to hosting an adoptee night in the state.

Last year, the foundation hosted adoptee nights during a San Francisco Giants game as well as an Atlanta Braves game.

“I’m really excited to help host the adoptee night with the Minnesota Twins,” Bachman said. “Fans should get to the stadium early to enjoy all the pre-game activities.”

The Mixed Roots pre-game activities will start at 4:30 p.m. at Pizza Luce in Minneapolis near Target Field.

At 6:40 p.m., U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar will welcome fans and introduce who will throw out the first pitch.

Rob Brzezinski, Minnesota Vikings vice president of football operations, and his son, Ki, will have the honor.

Brzezinski and his wife, Leah, are adoptive parents of five children from South Korea.

“The gift of adoption has had a profound effect on our family, and we are honored to be included in such a special evening and to have the opportunity to throw out the first pitch,” Brzezinski said.

After the first pitch is thrown, the Grammy award-winning group Sounds of Blackness will perform the national anthem with Korean adoptee singer Kimberly Michaels.

“There is finally an opportunity that I can bring my whole self of being adopted and combine my passion for singing for a cause that is so near and dear to my heart,” Michaels said. “I look forward to collaborating with the Grammy award-winning Sounds of Blackness, too. Talk about mixed roots.”

Bachman said she tried to find individuals to participate in the pre-game activities that had a connection to adoption in some way.

“It’ll be rewarding to see all those who are connected to adoption,” she said.

Bachman said the foundation will be handing out adoptee night rally towels for free to those who purchased an adoptee night game ticket and for those who didn’t, towels will be $10.

All proceeds will go to the foundation.

“This is really exciting and really meaningful to me,” Bachman said.

Bachman plans on hosting adoptee events with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Jose Earthquakes, a major league soccer team, and hopes to expand the events into other sports like hockey and NASCAR, too.

“This is the third stage of my life. I was adopted, I visited Korea and now I am taking what I’ve learned to help other adoptees. Personally, it’s my life coming full circle,” she said. “It’s the legacy I want to leave and how I want to make a difference.””

Owatonna native, foundation host adoptee night at Minnesota Twins game

[Owatonna People’s Press 8/2/13 by Ashley Stewart]

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