Nearly 11 years ago, I came home early from work in tears with no understanding of what was wrong and wound up spending the afternoon on the floor with my three dogs watching horrifically bad daytime television.

I should have been happy. We were finally on the waiting list to adopt a child after writing our biographies, attending classes, undergoing financial vetting, and, finally, being assessed as potential parents by what’s known in the adoption world as a “home study.”

When my husband arrived home, he took one look at me and said he was going to the drug store for a pregnancy test. Mind you, I couldn’t get pregnant. Or so we thought. The test was positive, and it became clear that my raging hormones explained the otherwise inexplicable melancholy.

We had a baby boy, and a year later wanted to get right back on that adoption waiting list. Then the crying jag came again, and another boy followed nine months later.

There’s a point to this, I swear. Just bear with me.

Every day, hundreds of emails flood my inbox—corporate job announcements, real estate index gobbledygook that makes my eyes glaze over, more from MGM National Harbor than you could possibly imagine, bad pitches, and myriad other communications that are utterly barren of relevancy.

Some of what we receive is worthy but just isn’t really our bag. After all, we know our strengths, and so City Paper tends to toil in tough investigative and political reporting and owning arts and dining coverage.

But when I got a press release last week about the work of an organization called Kidsave, I couldn’t get it off my mind. It’s not the type of thing we typically write about, but I’m the damn editor and wanted to help get the word out.

Kidsave is a U.S.-based nonprofit that advocates for older, overlooked orphans who are in institutional care around the world. This summer it is bringing 50 Colombian children who need families to the D.C. area and beyond for a month-long visit—with the hopes that they will meet prospective adoptive families.

For those who were in my position 10 years ago, or who have the resources and desire to expand their families, Kidsave asks that you consider becoming a host family. For those who want to help but aren’t in a position to adopt, there is also a May 9 silent auction to raise money for these kids. To help, visit kidsave.org or contact community coordinator Alejandro Yepes at ealejandroyes@gmail.com.