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During the 2024 Wendy’s Wonderful Kids^® Summit, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption recognized Sandra, a Wendy’s Wonderful Kids supervisor with the Department of Children, Seniors, and Social Development in Newfoundland, Canada, as Supervisor of the Year. Sandra is known as a “permanency champion” for her exceptional policy knowledge, strong advocacy and supportive management style.

Through its Wendy’s Wonderful Kids program, the Foundation supports the hiring of adoption professionals who are dedicated to finding permanent families for the longest-waiting children in foster care. That includes teenagers, children with special needs and siblings. These professionals use an evidence-based, child-focused recruitment model to find the right family for every child in their care.

A rigorous, five-year evaluation revealed that children referred to Wendy’s Wonderful Kids are up to 3x more likely to be adopted.

Nominated by her team, Sandra has been committed to timely permanency planning for children in foster care since 1991. She is dedicated to the wellbeing of children in care and exudes genuine care while striving to find them a safe, permanent family.

“The most rewarding part of this job is to see children and youth realize what potential they have, and that people love them and care about them,” said Sandra. “It’s the best feeling in the whole world when you can find permanency for somebody.”

If you dare tell Sandra there is no family for a child, you will get a quick response, “it is our job to find them.” She truly embraces the motto “unadoptable is unacceptable.”

Congratulations, Sandra, and thank you for the past 30 plus years you have dedicated to advocating for children lingering in foster care.