Patina is pleased to announce "From the Heart," a Valentine's Day Invitational Jewelry Exhibition to benefit the Santa Fe non-profit, Adoption Means Love. Adoption Means Love, or AML, provides support to adoptive families of children in foster care and to young people who have "aged out" of the foster care system.

Patina has invited all the gallery's jewelry artists to contribute one piece to the exhibition. The artists are asked to provide a piece of jewelry using the color red, in any shade. Proceeds from the sale of the works will be donated to AML.

Michelle Branch, founder and administrator of AML is passionate about this cause. She has received numerous awards for her work, including the Congressional, Angels of Adoption Award and the Adoption Advocacy Award from the New Mexico Adoption Exchange.

Branch knows adoption from both sides. Adopted as a toddler from foster care in England, Branch is the mother of two young boys, Christian and Ian. Ian, adopted from Russia, and Christian look forward to the imminent arrival of a new sister, a little girl from Ethiopia.

"I founded AML because I believe in the triumph and transformation of adoption. I believe it is in a child's best interest to have a "forever family" and to understand "forever love." As a person of international adoption I have been blessed with this understanding."

Children are often placed in foster care because of stressful circumstances in the birth family. As a result, families adopting foster children often require special support in helping their child to adjust and settle into a new life. Established in 2004, Adoption Means Love provides support to these families in various ways. Recently AML provided grant money to families for specialized training and a grant to Gerard's House for a new program providing grief support to foster children coping with grief.

AML also offers support to young people who have "aged out" of the foster care system. AML receives requests for money to help them acquire small items, like a mattress or to pay for a college textbook. No request is too small because fulfilling it can make a world of difference to child struggling alone in an indifferent world.

Patina, established in 1999, represents some of the world's finest studio jewelry artists, among them Germany's Atelier Zobel and Americans, Pat Flynn, Todd Reed, John Iversen, Alexandra Watkins, Andy Cooperman and Tod Pardon. These are just a few of the participating artists.

The exhibition will open Friday evening, February 5 from 5:00 until 7:00. The exhibition will run through February 21, 2010. Michelle Branch will attend the reception.

A Portion of all sales in the gallery will benefit AML, through February 15th. Can't make it to the exhibition? To support Adoption Means Love, when making a purchase on-line from Shop Patina, enter code AML in the Sales/Charity field on the final purchase page. For items being purchased from the Adoption Means Love exhibition you will have to call in the order to patina at 505.986.3432 or toll free 877.877.0827 and mention AML to the sales associate.