In its eighth year, the 2025 MK5K brought together hundreds of participants from coast to coast in a powerful show of unity and support for the Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation (MKACF) in Canada.
The first thing Jamie Honerlaw, a Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiter, noticed about De’Andre was his outgoing personality. She knew what kind of family De’Andre wanted — one with a mom and a dad and little siblings – and was determined to find it for him. He’d been in foster care for nearly four years when Jamie introduced him to the Fargasons. She knew their family was the perfect fit for De’Andre.
It’s what many of us consider a simple rite of passage. Getting your driver’s license. But for teenagers in foster care, it’s not a given. Often times they aren’t in one place long enough to find someone to teach them and if they do get their license, whose car would they drive?
Laverne Moore-Jenkins and her husband Terry have been fostering children for almost 30 years. They have always enjoyed working with teens to help them get the skills they need to transition out of the foster care system as well as provide them a place to visit.
Emily was adopted from foster care when she was just a year old. Today, she is 6 and thriving as a member of her forever family. Often times, children linger in foster care for years before their forever family is found. The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption works each and every day to dramatically increase the number of adoptions from foster care. Our work is changing the attitudes of Americans who are now considering foster care adoption more and more, who believe that every child is worth of a family and love and who believe that children are in foster care through no fault of their own.
The foster care adoption process can seem long and unending, but it is always worth it. Isaac and Teague spent nearly 1,400 days in foster care. That’s almost four years! Today they are home, together and excited to celebrate the holiday season with their forever family. Their mom shared, “It was a long journey with lots of ups and downs but these boys needed us and we needed them.”
Siblings Breauna, Renee and Kai were adopted this past May after spending 944 days (Breauna and Renee) and 678 days (Kai) in foster care.
The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is able to fund adoption recruiter positions at adoption agencies throughout the United States and Canada. Those recruiters are called Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiters. They focus solely on older children, sibling groups and children with special needs. The Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiters are working hard each day to make sure that children who are most at risk of aging out of care, get adopted before that happens.
To meet CJ today, you’d never know there was a time when he didn’t speak, that he feared his food would be taken away or that he would use negative behaviors to protect himself. Today, when you meet CJ he will tell you he likes to eat dinner with his family and that he loves his dog.
When Monarika’s adoption was finalized in April, 2017, her new sisters surprised her with custom t-shirts that said “Team Hedges.” Everyone in the court room wore one, and when the judge announced the adoption was official, they took off their jackets to reveal the wording on the back: “Lifetime Member.” They wanted Monarika to truly know that this was her forever family.
Robbin and Steven hadn’t considered adopting two children. But when Rachel, a Wendy’s Wonderful Kids Recruiter, told them about Dawson and Dalton, they knew they had to keep the boys together.
Republic Services of Richmond and Pacheco, California were recognized at the 7th Annual East Bay Philanthropy Awards. Presented by the Sanford Institute for Philanthropy and Wells Fargo honoring the people, businesses, and service organizations that give back to the East Bay community. It is the most inspiring day for the East Bay Leadership Council, where they are thrilled to help recognize such an exceptional class of honorees. Republic Services was honored with the Outstanding Corporate Philanthropist award.
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Highlighting the top news, commentary, and research for the week coming from SHQ. The highlights newsletter also spotlights one profiled organization...
