Florida A lot has changed since Dawson and Dalton were placed in foster care as young boys. Dalton, who has cerebral palsy and other medical diagnoses, often did not receive the care he needed. At 10 years old, he weighed just 44 pounds. Dawson worried constantly about his older brother. “I was alwa
Ohio Important. Loved. Happy. These are the feelings described by siblings Taye, Kemarquez and Kiondre after being adopted by empty-nesters Carla and Oliver in Ohio. But the brothers didn’t always feel that way. Placed in foster care after being abandoned in a hotel room, the children spent several
Ontario, Canada In 2018, Kathryn and John shared their journey to adopt siblings Serenity and Kai through the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption-Canada’s Wendy’s Wonderful Kids program, in partnership with Adopt4Life. The couple had always wanted to grow their family and decided to pursue infant ad
North Carolina Placed in foster care when he was 7 years old, Conner spent nearly half of his young life longing for a permanent place to call home. “I moved a bunch. I really didn’t want to move that much. I didn’t think I could have a family,” he shared. Right now, more than 120,000 children, like
Anthony Onesto, Chief People Officer at Suzy, was adopted as an infant and shares our belief that every child deserves a permanent home and a loving family. Now on a journey to discover his past, Anthony is telling his story to help raise awareness about adoption and the unique experiences that adop
Utah Placed in foster care at age 8, Austin spent the next three years of his young life longing for the security and stability of a permanent home. He often felt undeserving, unworthy and not capable of accomplishing anything. Fortunately, Austin’s journey changed with help from his Wendy’s Wonderf
Michael, second from right, pictured with his family at an event for Farmers Insurance Michael adopted his two oldest children at ages six and four, followed by their sister several years later at just three months old. Thanks to Farmers Insurance’s benefits, he was able to take time off to bond wit
Florida Arleigh was placed in foster care in Florida after suffering years of abuse and neglect. “I felt like I was lost,” Arleigh shares. “I gave up so many times to the point where I wanted to disappear.” At age 16, Arleigh was referred to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption’s Wendy’s Wonderfu
My wife, Darah, and I always wondered if we might one day adopt. Darah was adopted at birth, so adoption has always been a big part of her story. At the time we began to consider it more seriously, Darah and I had three biological sons but felt we had room in our family for another child. Patrick an
Ohio Lexi remembers the day she and her older brother, Nick, were placed in foster care after being found alone in the motel where they lived. “It was confusing. I was scared. We didn’t know where we were going,” Lexi shared. Nick had major health issues — made worse by years of neglect
