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Yes, Triple My GiftThis year marked an exciting milestone for the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption as we celebrated 20 years since the launch of our Wendy’s Wonderful Kids® program.
In 2004, we started with seven pilot sites and a bold goal: to find safe, permanent homes for youth most at risk of aging out of foster care without a family. Today, more than 550 Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiters are serving the longest-waiting children in foster care across the United States and Canada.
Over the last year, Delaware, Massachusetts and Vermont signed partnerships to begin expanding statewide. That brings us to 20 states and the province of Ontario that have scaled or are currently scaling this life-changing program. We remain steadfast in our commitment to working with agencies, courts and policymakers in these and other states to advocate for policies that promote equitable opportunities for every waiting child … no matter their story.
Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, more than 14,000 children across the U.S. and Canada have been adopted through Wendy’s Wonderful Kids — including more than 1,000 young people in just the past year.
Youth like Marisol, who lingered in foster care for 14 years. Fortunately, she was referred to the Wendy’s Wonderful Kids program, where her recruiter advocated for her wants and needs, leading to her adoption at age 19. In this report, you’ll read more of Marisol’s story and other perspectives of young people whose lives have been transformed by having a permanent family.
As we work to find forever families for children lingering in foster care, we know that the need for support does not stop after a finalization happens. That’s why the Foundation has made significant investments in national grants over the last year focused on growing post-permanency services for families, starting with building the capacity of our Wendy’s Wonderful Kids grantees to provide these resources.
The Foundation also elevated the national conversation about foster care adoption through digital ads, podcasts, social media influencer campaigns and public service announcements that attracted billions of impressions on TV, radio and billboards across the country. And we secured stories in top-tier publications, such as Forbes, Good Morning America, TIME Magazine, USA Today and more.
Through our Adoption-Friendly Workplace program, the Foundation recognized organizations leading the way in providing adoption and foster care benefits. And we shared heartwarming stories from employers, such as Disney, Fifth Third Bank, New York Life and Walmart, to inspire others to provide this critical support.
Thank you for making this life-changing work possible. Together, we can achieve the vision that every child will have a permanent home and a loving family.
With deep gratitude and all good wishes,
Rita L. Soronen
President & CEO
During our 2024 fiscal year, we continued expanding and sustaining the impact of Wendy’s Wonderful Kids program in current scaling states, and signed partnerships to expand statewide in Delaware, Massachusetts and Vermont.
Placed in foster care at age 5, Marisol’s childhood was filled with trauma. She experienced abuse and neglect and was often left to care for an infant by herself.
For 14 years, she moved through several foster and group homes. She coped by singing and sharing her beautiful voice, holding on to her dream of being adopted. But by age 18, she was still in a group home and had little hope for her future.
Thankfully, everything changed for Marisol after she met Scott, her Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiter.
Through a diligent search, Scott identified Edwin and Heather as a potential adoptive placement.
To advance our mission, the Foundation believes it is not just about building an approach that finds forever homes for the longest-waiting children in foster care. It is about understanding the needs and lived experiences of the children and youth we serve, improving access for families who want to adopt and building an organization that supports the broader child welfare community in the United States and Canada.
This is why the Foundation’s strategic priorities and signature programs are grounded in research and created with a racial equity lens.
Read the full annual report to learn more about how we are advancing these priorities in partnership with our caring community of supporters.
The annual Wendy’s Season of Giving is a shining illustration of the Wendy’s family’s commitment to the Foundation as its charity of choice and an example of a best-in-class social impact initiative. Through the sale of Boo! Books® and Frosty® Key Tags, the 2023 Season of Giving raised $21.7 million to help advance the Foundation’s mission.
Along with other in-restaurant campaigns and additional donations, The Wendy’s Company, franchise owners and operators, suppliers, employees and customers raised more than $25 million during fiscal year 2024 benefiting the Foundation.
The Dave’s Legacy of Love Society is the Foundation’s highest level of recognition for Wendy’s franchise organizations that go all in to support our mission. These are organizations that sell at least 1,000 Boo! Books and 1,000 Frosty Key Tags per restaurant.
We are excited to honor the 32 Wendy’s franchise groups that are included in the class of 2023.
*Celebrating five consecutive years in Dave’s Legacy of Love Society
For the past two years, Wendy’s in the Arizona region has leveraged its sponsorship with the Arizona Diamondbacks during National Foster Care Month in May. This year, a promotional day featured ballpark signage, a website homepage takeover, a PSA from pitcher Ryan Thompson and a check presentation of more than $430,000 to benefit the Foundation.
Thank you to the Arizona Wendy’s restaurants for this generous support and opportunity to raise awareness!
A special thank you to the Foundation’s supporters, who are helping to ensure that more children waiting in foster care can have their voices heard and their dreams of a forever family come true.
Sylvia Skratek’s journey as a supporter of the Foundation began when a 12-year-old boy came to live with her when his parents couldn’t be there for him. In getting to know him and his friends, many of whom had also experienced neglect, Sylvia saw the struggles children face without a safe, permanent place to call home.
Moved by this experience, Sylvia looked for organizations working to be a part of the solution and was impressed by the Foundation’s mission. “The Foundation’s deep interest in helping these children truly resonated with me,” Sylvia said.
Sylvia supports the Foundation through her donor-advised fund, a tax-efficient way to ensure that we can serve more waiting children … and strengthen families and communities for generations to come.
Today, that young boy who became part of her family is a successful adult with a stable job and a family of his own — a testament to the positive impact of a supportive home.
“While none of us can help every child, all of us can make a contribution, no matter how small, that will make a difference,” she said.
Thank you, Sylvia!
Every year, Southern Industrial Constructors, Inc. hosts a golf tournament to raise funds for charities nominated by their employees.
Their sixth annual tournament benefited the Foundation, thanks to a nomination from two employees, Rodney and Brittany Axtman, who grew their family with help from the Foundation’s Wendy’s Wonderful Kids program.
With the support of more than 125 attendees — including customers, vendors and employees — the event raised more than $60,000 for the Foundation’s mission.
Thank you to Southern Industrial Constructors, Rodney and Brittany Axtman and everyone who helped to make the tournament a success!
Inspired by a child he met who was without a permanent home, Roof Maxx owner, Mike Feazel, knew he wanted his company to help other children who faced a similar fate.
In January 2024, Roof Maxx announced the Foundation as its select giving partner, generously pledging to give an annual portion of gross proceeds to the Foundation.
Today, Roof Maxx dealers across the U.S. are helping to raise awareness and funds for the Foundation among their customers. Roof Maxx’s goal: help find forever families for 25,000 children waiting in foster care by 2030.
Thank you, Mike Feazel and Roof Maxx, for your partnership!
The Foundation earned a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, recognizing our commitment to good governance, financial transparency and other best practices and is proud to be a part of the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance, a GuideStar Platinum participant and a CharityWatch Top-Rated Charity. View the U.S. statements of financial position on pages 18–19 of the Annual Report.
The Foundation is proudly accredited and certified by the following organizations:
