- Advisory Committee of the Spokeo Search Angel Awards

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We want to hear about these amazing souls and the great work that they’ve done. This time we’re not just giving out free accounts; those who win the Spokeo Search Angel Awards will receive a cash grant provided by the Mixed Roots Foundation’s Spokeo Search Angel Fund, a one-year Spokeo account AND the opportunity to have reunion costs covered for matches that they make during their year as “Spokeo Search Angels.”

We are so excited about this effort not only because we want to honor giving volunteers, but because we have had the opportunity to work with amazing individuals and organizations to launch it. We are a technology company with a major expertise in people search… not so much in adoption, so along with partnering with Mixed Roots, we formed an advisory committee of experts and star search angels to help guide the way. The committee has not only helped us shape the program thus far, but they will also be the group reviewing the nominations and helping select the Search Angel Award Winners!

Ladies and gentlemen, we are so excited to introduce you to our amazing advisory committee:

• *Holly Choon Hyang Bachman – founder, president and CEO, Mixed Roots Foundation
• *Lynne Banks – mom through adoption, American Adoption Congress SD state rep, co-founder of Adoptionscams.net and search angel
• *Carrie Craft – adoptive mother; reunited sibling; and guide to Adoption & Foster Care, About.com 
• *Donnie Davis – president, American Adoption Congress
• *Vanessa Flores – director of public relations, Spokeo
• *Johnny Madrid – board director, A Home Within, California Court Appointed Special Advocates, and National Foster Youth Action Network
• *Emanuel Pleitez – chief strategy officer, Spokeo
• *Angela Saverice-Rohan – adoptive mother and general counsel, Spokeo
• *Priscilla Sharp – mother of adoptee, search angel, adoptee rights advocate
• *Aaron Sheinbein – co-founder, Findmyfamily.org
• *Rita Soronen – president & CEO, Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption
• *Marilyn Waugh – past president and current state representative, American Adoption Congress

We tip our hats to these talented individuals and are so grateful for their guidance and support thus far. But their job is only half way done! We can’t wait to read and discuss the inspiring stories of search angels across the nation.

Please help us spread the word about this great program so that we can help as many families as possible! You can visit our site www.spokeoangels.com to learn more about the program and submit your nomination.

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What are search angels? Nice people who help others search? Yes! But they are also actually a named group of volunteers who donate their time and resources to helping people (mostly adoptees) search for and reunite with their birth families. These volunteers help adoptees and their families comb through birth records and various clues employing tools like Spokeo to find the long lost family members. Beyond this dedicated sleuthing work, they also provide crucial emotional and friendly support to help adoptees and birth parents take this important step in their lives.

To kick off our effort in assisting more families, Spokeo and Mixed Roots are launching the “Spokeo Search Angel Awards.” With this program, we’ll be working with a group of community leaders to help us recognize, support and honor the top search angels in the nation.

We’re very proud of our partnership with the Mixed Roots Foundation and other community  partners (which we’ll tell you about soon) who have signed on in support of our effort. With the help of organizations like these we’ll really be able to reach the people who need the help of a search angel and touch many lives. Mixed Roots was founded by adoptee Holly Choon Hyang Bachman and focuses on helping improve the lives of adoptees and their families. Search angels are an amazing resource to many adoptees and birth parents and as a part of the organization’s search angel fund, Mixed Roots will be providing a cash grant to the winners of the Spokeo Search Angel Awards.

Spokeo will provide premium accounts to help angels with their searches as well as additional resources and financial support once they’ve made a match. From plane tickets to hotel expenses, Spokeo isn’t going to let a dip in finances stop families from reuniting.

We look forward to sharing many more details about this program, which we are all truly passionate about here at Spokeo. We’ll send out a call for nominations in the next few weeks. If you know of anyone who would be interested in the program or might know someone who should be nominated for the award, just have them shoot us an email at searchangels@spokeo.com and we’ll be sure to send them more information.

For now we’re happy to celebrate the new partnership with Mixed Roots and are busy nailing down the final details for the Spokeo Search Angel Awards. Stay tuned!

The post Spokeo Partners with Mixed Roots to Help Reunite More Families appeared first on Spokeo Search Angels.

Individuals who have been touched by the work of Search Angels are encouraged to visit www.spokeoangels.com to submit a nomination. Winners of the awards will receive a cash grant provided by the Mixed Roots Foundation’s Spokeo Search Angel Fund, a one-year account to Spokeo, and the opportunity to have reunion costs covered for a limited amount of matches made during their year as a “Spokeo Search Angel.”

“Spokeo is committed to helping families reunite, and Search Angels play a crucial role in helping adult adoptees and others with the logistical and emotional support needed to reconnect with their biological family members,” said Spokeo’s chief strategy officer, Emanuel Pleitez. “Our commitment to honoring and helping Search Angels is for the long term. We take great pride in having the opportunity to work with so many leaders and organizations within the adoption community to launch this effort.”

“As an adoptee who has searched for birth family and knowing countless others who share a similar experience – it is time that we recognize those who have helped us not only through the search process but honor those who have been there from the very beginning to the end,” said Holly Choon Hyang Bachman, adoptee, founder and president of the Mixed Roots Foundation. “The Spokeo Search Angel Awards program will be a way to finally say ‘Thank you’ and the establishment of the Spokeo Search Angel Fund will be a way to help expand and continue the work that Search Angels do for adoptees and their families every day for generations to come.”

Spokeo will accept nominations beginning Thursday, November 15 through Friday, November 30. Only those volunteers who donate their searching services are eligible for the awards. The advisory committee will review all eligible nominations and select the finalists who will be contacted to provide additional information. The winners of the Spokeo Search Angel Awards will be notified and announced in early January 2013.

About Spokeo
Spokeo is a search engine with a mission to organize the world’s public information around people. Our technology aggregates and organizes people-related information from phone and address directories, social networks, celebrity photo libraries and other public sources, allowing users to search for friends, family, celebrities, public figures, and business contacts. We are committed to helping people find and connect with others more easily than ever. For more information about Spokeo, visit http://www.spokeo.com.

About Mixed Roots Foundation
Mixed Roots Foundation is the first and only national /global multicultural adoptee led foundation for adoptees and their families that cross sect the international, domestic, and foster care adoption experience. Mixed Roots aims to streamline funding and more post adoption resources for adoptees and their families through collaboration with likeminded individuals, businesses, and other organizations in the greater community. For more information about Mixed Roots, visit www.mixedrootsfoundation.org.

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