Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption

Have a voice? Use it.

February 29, 2012

Guest post by Miguel Perez
Chief Operating Officer

Inside our DTFA offices, we often refer to ourselves as “the voice for foster care adoption.” As chief operating officer, one of my responsibilities is to make sure our voices are strong, heard and making an impact.  

With that in mind, we thought our engaged supporters would like to hear a little more from us and to get to know us a little better — hear what makes us tick. So, you will continue to hear from our president & CEO, Rita Soronen, but you will also hear from others on our team as well. We hope by learning more about us, you will learn more about the Foundation and the children who rely on us to be their voice.

Let’s start with me and what makes me tick. Why not?

We all know there are people who would rather sit in the corner and prefer to go through life quietly, without ruffling any feathers. We also know those very people may have great insight or ideas into solving a key problem or making a situation stronger, better. Why are they silent? Who has taken their voice? What opportunities are we missing, by not empowering or encouraging each and every person to speak out? 

I am a believer that we all have something to say, something to share. At the Foundation, as we tackle the issue of finding homes for the more than 100,000 children in foster care waiting to be adopted, we need voices. Strong voices. Not only ours, but yours. We work every day to speak up for what we know is right. We speak up to further our mission of dramatically increasing the number of adoptions of waiting children from North America’s foster care systems.

It’s our job to get people to understand. When they understand, they care. When they care, they move to action. In our case, we hope people will be moved to speak out and become ambassadors for these children, donate and support our work, and open their hearts and homes to a child whose life they can change forever.

What if we didn’t speak up?

We all have a voice to use.

We can all make an impact. 

One of my favorite quotes by Anita Roddick: “If you think you’re too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito in the room.” 

For now, get to know us better.

Move to action.

Speak up. For you. For us. For the children. For something. Anything.

Trust me. There are more than 100,000 children who will be glad you did.

Learn. Donate. Adopt.

107,000 reasons why you should find it hard to sleep tonight

February 8, 2012

I don’t know about you, but every time I think about the number of children in the United States who are in foster care and waiting to be adopted, I get restless.

107,000. Children.

The capacity seating at last week’s football frenzy at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis was 68,000.  We would have to put nearly 40,000 children on the laps of other children just to get all 107,000 into those seats. And frankly, if we did just that, perhaps we would garner a bit of the attention we pay to an annual football game.

These children — our children — wait in care for years, and sometimes for their entire childhood. Last year 30,000 children quietly turned 18 and left foster care – without a “seat at the game.” They aged out, emancipated, simply walked out the door. And instead of demanding change, too often we make excuses – this child is too old; that child is better off not moving again; our budget has been slashed and we just cannot do any more.

There is no more room for excuses.

Last week I had the honor of reviewing more than 70 applications of youth (most of whom had aged out of care) for a few spots in a Congressional internship program. Each of their stories was compelling, gripping, and even though they had every reason to be bitter or angry, instead they were full of hope.

I stayed up all night reading each application and words like foster care boot camp, prison, misconduct and trauma filled the pages. Their collective experiences revealed a system fraught with failure and yet their spirits showed a shared belief that change can and must happen. 

Make no mistake, these amazing young adults have too often grown up in a world they viewed as an institutional nightmare, but they bring to the table the clearest and strongest voices for change.

If you find yourself sleepless tonight, join me in listening to their voices. And help us work to make foster care adoption a reality for 107,000 children. Now.

Sometimes it takes a child to clarify the complex

January 6, 2012

Five-year-old Katherine, watched over by her loyal dog, Bear.

We just received a kick-start-to-the-New-Year letter from 5-year-old Katherine.  Although penned by her mom, Katherine’s kindergarten signature was at the bottom.  Here is what she said:

Dear Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption,

My name is Katherine. I just turned 5 years old. I watched a movie recently about a young boy who was an orphan. The movie bothered me and I couldn’t stop thinking (or talking) about the little boy with no family.

I woke up one morning and decided I was going to do something to help that little boy who didn’t have a family. I made a sign that said, ‘Money for Orphans,’ set up my table and chair in the driveway, snuggled into my warm coat, hat and gloves, and sat outside for two and a half hours while Mommy watched me from the window. Of course, Mommy needed to bring me a mug of hot cocoa and a snack because it was cold. I collected $19 that day!

Soon, a lot of people heard about what I was doing and who I was raising the money for and decided to chip in, too. I am very proud to present you with a check for $88.77 to help you find a loving home for all the boys and girls out there that need one. I hope each of them find a family that loves, supports and completes them the way mine does for me.

Thank you for all that you do.

Love,

Katherine

If young Katherine can see the issue, get motivated, create a solution and act on it, then there is simply no justifiable reason for any of us to ignore the needs of children waiting to be adopted. Sometimes it takes a child to clarify the complex, to illumniate the obvious and to move us all to care. Katherine did that for me. You?

Sparks fly: A first-hand account of A Home for the Holidays by a mother and daughter

December 12, 2011

Sparks fly
By Dana Dornburgh, soccer mom

It’s a late night Friday night. After a long day at work as a guidance counselor in a high school, and a hectic week of running around with my three  daughters, you would think the last thing I’d want to do is a 9 p.m. soccer game. But Taylor Swift is blaring, and I hear the sweet words coming from my back seat in the dark as we head home, “Cause I see the sparks fly whenever you smile …” Those words resonate into the night, and pretty much explain how I feel about her, my adopted daughter. 

I think it was part accident, part destiny that I arrived where I am, soccer mom extraordinaire. It was 2003 and my husband was at work. By the glow of the Christmas tree I was channel surfing looking for something to watch. Then I saw the preview for “A Home for the Holidays” and I was intrigued. This is my kind of show! I grew up with a family close to me that were foster parents and I was always amazed by what they did. They had kids of their own, but they were willing to take on more. I thought they were the most unselfish people I knew, and I looked up to them. 

By the end of the show I was sobbing. How could 160,000 perfectly good kids be waiting for homes? They told some of their stories and I was heartbroken. And here I was trying to have another baby when there were kids out there that needed a family. We were a family that needed another child. I had to look into this. 

I logged into the adoption album that night to look at the waiting kids and get more information. I read dozens of stories and my heart continued to break. I made up my mind then and there that we would have a place in our home and our heart for foster to adoption. How could we not?

By the year’s end I had called our county at the time, Schenectady County. By the end of January we began the parenting classes. By that spring, we were declared fit to board kids! We had a couple of placements that were short-term, and that was neat to be a part of. We were fostering “at risk kids.” Kids that were at risk of not being returned to their natural families. We waited daily for those calls, and I won’t kid you, it wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t long. My phone rang in December, one year after I had watched “A Home for the Holidays.” There was a little girl, not yet 2 years old. Her biological mom had been trying to visit, to parent, to keep herself together, but it wasn’t working out. The current foster mom had already adopted a few children and couldn’t adopt any more, would we like to meet her?

Would we? Of course we jumped at the chance and went to meet her. Her little smile through the pacifier was so cute! Were those dimples? Look at her beautiful brown eyes. Sparks indeed! We began a series of short-term visits before she officially moved into our home. The big day was to be her second birthday in January. We had a cake, presents, and I’m not sure what we were celebrating most, her second birthday or her coming home. It took a year to finalize her adoption, and on May 15, 2005, we sealed the deal! 

I have to say we were blessed. This little toddler grew into such a smart, athletic, loving, little girl. Her report cards are a sea of perfect scores. To watch her on the soccer fields is a thrill! At 9 she is 5 foot 3. Her long powerful stride carries her across the field. She is keeping up with two teams, and has a side passion for basketball. Having never played a sport in my life, this is an interesting journey to be on. My oldest daughter is into fine arts and dance, my youngest, gymnastics, but with Annastasha, sports are the thing! If anyone tells you that foster kids are trouble, that they will never succeed, and could be a handful, please come to my house. I am so proud of her. She is a hard worker and wants to please people. As a guidance counselor, I see her potential, and it is vast. As a mom, I sit at those games now, imagining how much fun it will be when she’s on varsity, or when she is studying in college. 

How lucky am I? I get to be her mom forever and ever, and if you’re looking for me, I’m the one grinning and cheering on the sidelines, and occasionally belting out Taylor Swift late at night. “Cause I see the sparks fly, whenever you smile … ”

Sparks fly
By Annastasha Dornburgh, daughter and soccer player, 9 years old

It was in December when I, Annastasha, met my parents. I was sucking on my pacifier watching television at Raydean’s house. I was smiling but I was shy because I didn’t know what was going on, until they started taking me to their house and loving me like any parent loves their child. From that day on I couldn’t wait to see my loving parents. The official adoption date was on May 15, 2005.

It was my second birthday when I started living with my parents. On that day I had cake and presents waiting for me. I got a present that I still cherish today. It was my stuffed polar bear, who I named Polabeey. When I got that, I decided that polar bears are my favorite animals.

Today I’m 9 years old. I will be 10 in January. Being in this family is just like I’m a normal kid in the family. Just because I was adopted doesn’t mean I’m different. I’m the same as all the people in my family. My favorite sport is soccer. My mom takes me to most of my soccer game. Besides that I like basketball. I play basketball as much as I can. Although I like sports I also like to read. My favorite books are the Box Car Children because they’re fun mysteries. My mom treats me like my sister. I like how she doesn’t treat me different just because I’m adopted. I look up to my older      sister, Miranda, she likes dance. She has been dancing since she was three. I have a younger sister too. Her name is Ava. She is into gymnastics. She looks up to me. I love my family very much!!!!!!!!!

In the future I hope to adopt like when I was adopted. It really doesn’t matter if I adopt a boy or a girl. I hope to raise a wonderful family in the future. I also hope to have a safe place to live if I have children when I get older. I really want to get a dachshund puppy when I get older because right know I have dog and a cat. I hope my mom and my message makes you want to adopt and if it does, that’s awesome!

Wendy’s Wonderful Kids – It works!

October 26, 2011

In 2003, we began the journey of designing and implementing a model recruitment program that could work for every child waiting to be adopted from foster care – not just some of the children waiting to be adopted, but each and every one of them. At the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, we simply decided to take personally the system failures that tolerated any child being labeled “unadoptable,” or that allowed tens of thousands of children to age out of care. Not anymore, and not on our watch.

But there was no long term rigorous evaluation of existing recruitment practices to guide us. So we not only created an intensive, child-focused recruitment model that addresses the individual needs and experiences of children, but we committed to a national evaluation of the program.

And today, as we share with everyone who cares about children the results of the Wendy’s Wonderful Kids National Evaluation, we are excited and humbled. In summary it works, and it’s time for everyone to get on board.

Children served across North America by the 122 amazing Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiters supported by grants from the Foundation using an evidence-based child focused model are 1.7 times more likely to be adopted. It gets better – older children and children with mental health disorders are up to three times more likely to be adopted. 

If every one of the 107,000 children waiting to be adopted last year had the opportunity to be on the caseload of a Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiter, 37,000 more children would have been adopted. So we are more committed than ever to increasing our resources and partnerships to take the program to scale, to encouraging evidence-based activities when designing programs for children, and to insisting that “unadoptable” is unacceptable.

Please join us on this continuing journey. Take a moment and watch this video, read the research on our website and join in the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Help us make unadoptable unacceptable, once and for all.