On Your Feet hosts Evanston screening of New Trier alum's film

[EVANSTON, ILL.] — On Your Feet Foundation, an Evanston-based nonprofit dedicated to supporting birthparents who have placed a child, or children, for adoption, will host a screening of Meggin Nam Holtz, LMSW’s award-winning documentary, Found in Korea, on Thursday, June 20, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. at Unitarian Church of Evanston (1330 Ridge Ave, Evanston).

Released in 2019, Found in Korea was created to serve as a catalyst for conversations about adoption thoughts among youth and adults alike. A film about birth search and identity, Holtz, a Korean adoptee, visits Korea for the first time — searching for her birth family — while exploring the social stigmas surrounding adoption in modern-day Korea.

"My earliest desire to go back [to Korea] happened because I helped my sister to give birth. I helped her through labor and saw my niece born. And I really started thinking about the circumstances surrounding my own birth. I wondered who was there, who wasn't there, and where was I … I hadn't been interested in going back and doing a birth search before, but the human experience of seeing another human being born really connected me to my beginnings, and I was like okay I'm curious … then I just decided to go for it," Nam said in an interview with On Your Feet.

A New Trier graduate, Holtz brings over a decade of dedicated involvement in adoption advocacy, awareness, and support. Holding an MSW specializing in Child and Adolescent Trauma, she served as the Teen Mentor facilitator at All Together Now, a support group for adoptees and their families. In addition to producing Found in Korea, Holtz’s lived experience as a transracial adopted person has been shared across various mediums, including articles and podcasts. Her poem, "Who Cut My Umbilical Cord?" was included in "Flip the Script," an anthology for adult adoptees. Currently, she supports adopted people and their families in private practice, while continuing her passion for macro work towards adoption reform and education as a public speaker.

Alexis Eyler, On Your Feet Foundation’s Executive Director and fellow New Trier alum, says "I am thrilled that On Your Feet has the opportunity to share Nam’s film. Shedding light on the lived experiences of adoptees of international, transracial adoption and domestic infant adoption is critical to our understanding of the adoptee experience. Armed with this knowledge, we are better attuned to the impact this experience has on our family members, friends, co-workers, clients, patients, and students. And when we understand the impact of adoption on adoptees, we can provide informed support, improving outcomes for everyone in the adoption constellation."

This 74-minute film is suitable for all ages and is accessible to youth with reading disabilities (subtitles used). Doors open at 5:30 p.m., and a talkback with the filmmaker will immediately follow the screening.

Advance registration is requested. A $15 suggested donation will help offset the cost of the event. All proceeds go directly to On Your Feet Foundation, which provides the necessary support and services post-placement birthparents deserve to heal and thrive.

About On Your Feet Foundation:

Twenty-three years ago, the founders of On Your Feet recognized the importance of post-placement care for birth parents. Today, On Your Feet Foundation, an Illinois-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is recognized as the leader in comprehensive post-placement support for birth parents, a demographic that has historically been under-served within the adoption community. In the adoption landscape, they are a neutral third party, providing birth parents with case management, adoption-competent therapy, therapeutic retreats, education and counseling grants, adoption education, and a strong, vibrant community in which to heal and thrive. To learn more about On Your Feet, visit onyourfeetfoundation.org.