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Imagine lingering in foster care for years. As you get older, you start to lose hope of being adopted. You have had multiple caseworkers and too many foster homes to count. Then one day, someone comes to your foster home to meet you and introduces themselves as a Wendy’s Wonderful Kids^® recruiter. You are skeptical and mention that adoption only happens for younger kids. “Who would want to adopt a teenager?” you ask them. The recruiter replies, “That’s my job to find out.” 

Through our Wendy’s Wonderful Kids program, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption supports the hiring of adoption professionals, known as recruiters, who are dedicated to finding safe, loving and permanent homes for children lingering in foster care. The program serves teenagers, children with special needs and siblings because these are the children who are too often overlooked. 

Teenagers like Marisol, Lilyauna, Michael and DeMarion who thought they would have to navigate their lives without support, are now part of safe, permanent families because a Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiter took the time to listen and advocate on their behalf. These professionals begin their search for the right family within the child’s network of adults who already care for them and can meet their needs.  

When Marisol was placed in foster care as a young child, she thought she would be adopted immediately. But as she got older and hit her “double digits,” she felt hopeless and started to cry a lot more. As a teenager, she met her Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiter, Scott. It took time, but he found a way to gain her trust. “He basically would talk to me and hear me out. He was good at listening,” Marisol shared. After 14 years living in and out of group homes, Scott connected Marisol with her permanent family at age 19. “He was so amazing … he was there, and was always supportive of my decisions,” said Marisol.  

Lilyauna (Lily) was also adopted as a teenager. She waited in foster care for nine years and feared that she would have to face her future alone — until she met her adoption recruiter, Andrea. Lily shared that Andrea was one of the first adults she felt like she could rely on and trust. “When I called, she would answer,” Lily said. With Andrea’s help, Lily was adopted by Jess and Sam, who created a safe space for Lily to be herself and pursue her dreams. 

Michael is grateful for adoption recruiter, Cynthia, who not only helped find a forever family for him, but also for his brothers, Liam and Nathan. “She helped me and my brothers stick together. She’s the reason I have the life I have now,” Michael shared.  

DeMarion had gotten used to the uncertainty of his future and many of his relationships after spending more than a decade in foster care. But his adoption recruiter, Lauren, helped to change that pattern. “Lauren is one of the people I could actually talk to … she always helped me out. She was literally always there for me,” he shared. DeMarion’s foster mom Kamesha, who adopted him at age 16, echoed his feelings about Lauren. “Everybody needs a Lauren,” she added.

Will you help us share appreciation for the life-changing work of Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiters, like Scott, Andrea, Cynthia and Lauren by sending them a digital or handwritten note?  And thank YOU for supporting our mission!