protect those are most at risk from COVID-
19. This also means that more people can
safely contribute without overcrowding the
physical location.

Students living within 500 miles of the
Washington, D.C. area are able to attend vir-
tual rehearsals over Zoom using JackTrip
technology to control latency. Private
voice lessons are also available online
through the WCC.

In addition to the Nov. 5 benefit, the
WCC has three public seasonal concerts and
virtual choir videos for special projects that
support children from the international
community who are in need. “There is no
such thing as tone deaf, everyone can learn
Coristas de San Nicolás children’s choir in Mexico
to sing,” Harnes says. “I want to encourage
everyone to sing. Sing in the shower, in the
car, it’s healthy and it’s healing.”
Past concerts have helped build a school
in Africa, and held fundraisers benefit-
ing Bosnia and UNICEF, as well as Haiti
after the infamous 2010 earthquake. “I like
the children to know we aren’t
just singing for ourselves, we
are singing for other people,”
Harnes says.

Watch the Ukrainian benefit
concert on the CommonTime.

Online platform on Nov. 5.

Donations can be made through
voices.org/ua/en. For more infor-
mation, email info@voices.

org.ua. Email Sondra.harnes@
worldchildrenschoir.org to join
the WCC if you are 4 to 18 years
old. Weekly rehearsals are held
on Tuesday and Wednesday eve-
nings September through May.

Rehearsals and workshops for
advanced students are held
on weekends. T
Montessori School
of McLean
Where Authentic Montessori
Meets the 21st Century:
Ages 2-12
Cultivating each child’s unique ability to flourish in
mind, body and spirit
ENRICHMENTS • Science • Technology • Spanish • Outdoor Classroom
• Library • Music • Drama • Art • Physical Education
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14 Washington FAMILY NOVEMBER 2022
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‘i wanted
blessing’ TO BE A
EMBRYO ADOPTION
IMGORTHAND / E+ / GETTY IMAGES
PROVIDES NEW
ROUTE TO
PA R E N T H O O D
BY GINA GALLUCCI-WHITE
asha Brodgins Coates and her
husband tried many differ-
ent ways to get pregnant. After
exploring several different
options at a fertility clinic, the
Baltimore couple turned to in
vitro fertilization. Doctors implanted three
of six embryos, and the couple became
pregnant with twins, now 5 years old.

But after the in vitro procedure, they
were faced with a difficult decision: what
to do with their three unused embryos?
It can be a difficult spot to be in for par-
ents—if they choose to store their embryos,
they pay a yearly fee which can be hundreds
of thousands of dollars. The alternatives
are thawing and discarding the embryos,
donating to science or reproduction.

“At first, we didn’t think much about it,”
says Lisa Alberta, a Mickelton, N.J. mother
who was left in a similar situation with
four embryos to spare. “We just paid for
the storage, and year after year continued
to pay. After a while it was like, ‘OK what
are we going to do now?’”
The Brodgins Coates family did not want
to add to their own family of four, and
Alberta and her husband Michael discov-
ered they couldn’t—Lisa would be at risk
of passing Lyme Disease to the baby.

Both families were thrilled to discover
there was another option: the Snowflakes
Embryo Adoption Program.

A division of Nightlight Christian
Adoptions founded in 1997, the faith-based
operation gives families the opportunity
to donate their frozen embryos to families
seeking adoption.

Kimberly Tyson, vice president of
Snowflakes, says it can be a great option
for couples who did not have success with
other fertility options. Less expensive than
the regular adoption process—$16,000 ver-
sus the $30,000 to $35,000 for a domestic
infant adoption—it also allows prospective
WashingtonFAMILY.com 15