This post brought to you by Wendy’s. The content and opinions expressed below are that of Welcome To The Zoo.
Children in foster care “aren’t someone else’s responsibility,
they are our responsiblity“
-Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy’s
I’ve always loved the burgers at Wendy’s. All through university, I would take the $5 or $6 I had to my name, and eat like a queen from the Value Menu at Wendy’s!
As the years passed, and we began to develop a heart for foster care adoption, I was excited to learn that Dave Thomas, the founder of Wendy’s, also had the same heart for children in foster care. And it wasn’t just another cause to him — it was personal. He was adopted as a baby himself.
So, Dave founded the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption in 1992, and out of that has come the Wendy’s Wonderful Kids program. Wendy’s Wonderful Kids works to match children with adoptive families, and they’ve helped over 4500 children find Forever Families! Wendy’s passionately supports both the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption and Wendy’s Wonderful Kids , which is why they’ve introduced this brand new initiative!
November is National Adoption Month. And now, Wendy’s will be sharing the “Family First” stories of children adopted from foster care.
For many of us, a trip to the beach or a birthday party are fun, but are an expected part of family life. But for many children, that isn’t the case.
You may be familiar with my own family’s story of Kinship Care, which is very similar to foster care. The first time we took our little one to the beach was an experience for everyone. We dipped his tiny toes in the water, and watched his eyes grow wide as he tried to make sense of what we were doing. Even putting his feet on the sand was a fun experience! He wasn’t sure what to make of it the first few times, but soon enough, he was chest deep in water, running mud from the bottom of the lake through his fingers, splashing the other kids, and laughing great big, contagious belly laughs. It was so much fun to be a part of that!
Through the Wendy’s Wonderful Kids program, staff work to match children that have been in foster care the longest. The sad truth is that older children are much less likely to be adopted. The older they get, the more those chances decrease. That’s why Wendy’s Wonderful Kids is such a great program! They are devoted to finding Forever Families for every child, no matter their age or ability. They do such a great job that children that are referred to Wendy’s Wonderful Kids are three times as likely to be adopted!
Watch more Family First stories at Wendy’s adoption pageNow, you can take the Family First stories of children adopted through foster care home with you on Wendy’s cold beverage and specialty cups.
Each cup tells the story of a child’s “first” with their new family, and is beautifully illustrated. A first trip to an amusement park, a first vacation, a first trip to the zoo, and a first birthday party — this is the stuff of childhood. And yet these children only had the chance to experience each of these things with their Forever Family after they were adopted through the efforts of Wendy’s Wonderful Kids.
And this is why Dave Thomas founded the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption in the first place – to see children in foster care matched with loving families. Because of that desire, these Family Firsts have become very special memories for these kids and their new families.
These are children that our kids go to school with and play at the park with. What better way to give back to our own community than by supporting the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption and Wendy’s Wonderful Kids!
Check out more Family First stories and find out how you can help by visiting Wendy’s adoption page
I would love to hear your favourite “Family First”! What do you remember most about one of your children’s very first experiences?
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