Hebrew Free Loan Society of New York

Two loans from HFLS helped Michelle and David Slotnick adopt Miranda and Sierra from Hungary.

Creating and Helping Jewish Families

For more information on how to apply to the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Adoption Loan program, please review the background materials.

The Hebrew Free Loan Society’s (HFLS) Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Adoption Loan program assists Jewish couples and singles with the high cost of adoption-related expenses.  Since 2000, HFLS has made 32 adoption loans, totaling more than $325,000, to help adoptive parents handle the cost. It is a unique financial resource for those who have sufficient income to support a child but are unable to afford adoption expenses.

HFLS also provides loan assistance to single-parent families, a population with high levels of need, and large families of modest means.

David and Michelle Slotnick desperately wanted a child. After five years of trying to conceive, the couple was anxious to begin the adoption process. They had spent most of their $25,000 in savings on infertility treatment, and they could not afford the $20,000 to $30,000 in fees that are associated with adoption.

The Slotnicks were able to obtain a $15,000 interest-free loan from HFLS for most of the adoption expenses. Less than a year later, eleven-month-old Sierra Vanessa joined their family.  "David and I are so in love with Sierra. She’s fulfilled our dreams of having a family," Michelle told Jewish Week.

A year later, HFLS provided a second loan so the couple could adopt Sierra’s cousin, whom they named Miranda.