Holt is a reputable adoption agency started in the 1950's in South Korea during the war. For many years Korean families would not adopt children outside of their immediate families. With so many children having American GI fathers in the 1950's, Holt was formed to bring these children to the U.S. This continued for a number of years, but has slackened in recent times as the Korean people have opened up to adopting children outside of their families. Holt continues to operate an orphanage in Korea for children with special needs. The agency offers tours to families -- like ours -- who have adopted children from Korea, so these young adults can learn about their birth country. Holt operates summer camps for adopted children, too. The agency has expanded to other countries and provides services to keep children in their lands of their birth. Our experience with Holt after over 30 years is quite satisfactory. Holt has nothing to do with enslaving children or other nonsense you may read here. It is far better for a child to have a home than to grow up on the streets where they can (and will) fall into trouble. As mentioned, Holt not only sponsors adoptions, but also runs orphanages and counseling services for pregnant mothers to keep keep families intact. Don't put stock in random, negative internet postings from people who don't know what they are talking about. If you want to know about a group such as Holt, do your own research and talk to people who know what they are talking about. D.J. Iowa
I am a youth pastor in Jacksonville Florida. We have a youth group of around 30 teenagers. We have been involved with Holt for only 3 months, but in that short time we have fallen in love with our sponsored child from Vietnam. Every week we take an offering for her and send it in at the end of the month. So far the church has not had to make up any of the difference yet. I am pleased with the frequent update letters that we receive about our sponsored child as well. It's nice to know where your support money is going and what percentage is being allocated. I was told by a Holt Employee at WinterJam that 80% of your donation goes toward the child you choose to support and around 20% is administrative.
Review from CharityNavigator