Photo by Erica Techo.
Lorelei Posey
Lorelei Posey stands with one of the paintings she has for sale, titled “My Very Own Starry Night.”
Lorelei Posey doesn’t know who London Mullaly will be, but she is already anticipating his or her arrival. London is the name Lorelei’s godparents, Jenny and Jay Mullaly, have chosen for their future adopted child. Lorelei, a first-grade student at Chelsea Park Elementary, is helping raise money for their adoption.
After participating in the Shelby County Art Show in April, Lorelei asked to have her own art show, where she could display all of her paintings.
“She just thought that was the coolest experience, to go to an art show and have her art featured,” said Kathy Posey, Lorelei’s mother.
When her parents agreed to have the show, they encouraged her to think of a charity or cause she could support with any money they raised. While Lorelei does not know specific charities at her age, her mother said she has an understanding of which causes are important to her, including the Mullalys’ adoption.
“We didn’t tell her, ‘Do your art show for that,’ but we told her this [adoption] is the sort of thing people need to support, and she kind of moved into that,” Posey said. “We were, of course, excited because we love Jenny and Jay, and we love her.”
In December, Lorelei held her art show at the Chelsea Senior Citizens Lodge. At first, Posey said, they expected it to be a cute activity that would raise a few hundred dollars. Lorelei sold prints of her artwork, and they raised more than $3,000 for the Mullalys’ adoption.
Support from the community was overwhelming, Posey said, and more support has come in as people order prints of Lorelei’s work from their Etsy page. The money, however, has become a secondary goal.
Through Lorelei’s story and the Mullalys’ journey, Posey said they hope to inspire people to support adoption or take the leap to pursue adoption, if that is what they want.
“We want people to see the love of waiting families, that their child is going to be so greatly loved by families who can’t have kids but want to have kids,” Posey said.
Adoptions can cost $50,000, Posey said, and sometimes that number is daunting to waiting families. She said she hopes Lorelei’s efforts show those families it is possible to get the support to pay for an adoption, and some families have decided to pursue adoption since hearing their story.
“It’s given a lot of folks hope to be able to chase that dream for themselves,” Posey said.
People are more apt to listen to a child and be inspired by a child, Posey said, and she believes that is one reason people have been inspired and encouraged by Lorelei’s efforts.
“They always say it takes the heart of a child, and it’s true,” Posey said. “… It’s because people love to love on kids, people are more apt to listen to this story. And I think God uses children in special ways because they don’t have an ego in a way, like most adults do.”
Since the art show, Lorelei’s prints have been ordered in locations around the world, including a school in Hungary and in Jay Mullaly’s home country, England.
“It kind of renews your faith in humanity because there is so much negativity in the world, and so many bad stories about evil,” Posey said. “You just kind of get into this place where you think there’s no good left in the world … and then you do something like this, and you are part of something like this, and you see that people do care. People do care about other people and want the opportunity to be involved in something bigger than themselves.”
Since the art show, they have raised almost $4,000 for the Mullaly family. While they have thanked Lorelei, Posey said they have also given Lorelei a great gift.
“It’s just exciting to really watch her develop her heart through this process,” Posey said. “She’s about to turn 7 [in March], so it’s been about a year that we’ve watched her develop the mindset of giving to others and generosity and completely being selfless in what she’s doing.”
Lorelei has talked about holding a yard sale for the Mullalys or hosting a lemonade stand, and Posey said Jenny Mullaly has been amazed at Lorelei’s love for their future child.
“What blows her away is Lorelei’s love for somebody she doesn’t even know,” Posey said.
The Mullaly family had a home study completed in late January, and after its approval, they could receive a call about a child at any time. Posey said they are all ready to welcome baby London into a loving community.
“When Jenny and Jay get the call, and we hear they’ve been matched with a family, we’re going to have a big party,” Posey said.
Prints of Lorelei’s artwork are available on Etsy at etsy.com/shop/FantasticArtShow. They have also started a GoFundMe page for the Mullalys at gofundme.com/fantasticartshow.
