Gallery hopes to open hearts and homes

CHESAPEAKE, VA (WAVY) - Most of us take pictures to capture a moment, but some are taken to capture your heart.

That is the idea behind the "Heart Gallery".

Volunteer photographers captured images of 23 local kids who've been stuck in the foster system for far too long.

Adoption Coordinator Shawn Ware-Avant from the Up Center told 10 On Your Side, "Generally when people think about adoption initially they want infants. These kids are between the ages of six to 17 and so generally they are not the ones people are jumping for."

Pastor Carlton McLeod's church, Calvary Revival in Chesapeake, is hosting the gallery through the end of the month.

"My wife and I tried to have biological children for many years and the Lord didn't provide that particular avenue, so there was this other wonderful option called adoption," McLeod said.

They now have two beautiful little girls they brought home as infants. They considered adopting an older child at one time, but Donna McLeod said they backed off when they thought she was content with her foster family.

"When I saw her, a few years ago, that's when I realized there was this emotional heart connection she didn't get a chance to make that could have changed her or changed the path she ended up going down," Donna said.

Foster families are wonderful, but there's something about adoption and knowing you'll always have a place to call home.

The gallery can be viewed at Calvary Revival Church Chesapeake , located at 740 Great Bridge Boulevard, until Jan.

The gallery will then move to the Air and Space Museum in Hampton.

For more information, check out the Heart Gallery of Virginia website.