Adoption event to aid Niles family
Published 11:20 am Thursday, July 25, 2013
Adam and Mary Riggenbach are pictured with their children Owen, Ian and Isaiah. Submitted photo
Olfactory Hue Bistro in Niles will be hosting an “Adoption Rocks” event Aug. 1-3 to help a Niles family raise money to adopt a child.
Olfactory Hue Bistro will donate 10 percent of its sales during that time to the Riggenbach Family Adoption Fund. The restaurant is located at 226 E. Main St. in downtown Niles.
“[Olfactory Hue] has gone above and beyond helping us out and we are so, so grateful for what she has done,” Mary Riggenbach said.
Mary and her husband, Adam, have three children. Their 5-year-old male twins, Owen and Ian, are their biological children. Their third child, 16-month-old Isaiah, is adopted.
The Riggenbachs are saving money to adopt another child. Mary said it costs between $18,000 and $30,000 to adopt a child.
Mary said they chose to adopt not because they can’t have another biological child, but because they felt an urging to do so from God.
“We are Christians, and we believe that taking care of children and orphans is a responsibility that God gave us,” she said. “Not everyone needs to adopt or can adopt. However, it is something we felt we needed to do and could do.”
The Riggenbachs adopted Isaiah through Bethany Christian Services in Kalamazoo. He was born March 2012. The Riggenbachs spent two days with Isaiah and his birth mother at Lakeland Hospital in Niles before the Riggenbachs took Isaiah home.
After a six-month probationary period, the Riggenbachs gained complete custody of Isaiah.
Mary said Isaiah has been a perfect addition to the family.
“To think about not adopting just brings us so much sadness because we would’ve missed out on so much that we didn’t know about,” she said. “I look at my son everyday, and I can’t imagine him not being a part of our family.”
Mary is a nurse at South Bend Memorial Hospital while Adam runs a collision repair business.
They will celebrate their 10th anniversary this year.
Olfactory Hue Bistro is open for the fundraiser Thursday and Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Friday 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
For more information, find them on Facebook or call (269) 687-0880.
