The Dave Thomas Foundation recently celebrated its 10,000th adoption of a child from foster care and the milestone was reached during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Foundation was created by Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas as an independent non-profit foundation separate from the restaurant chain, says Rita Soronen, CEO of the Foundation.
The Foundation focuses on the adoption of children who have been in foster care the longest and those who might soon turn 18 without being adopted by a family.
It works with its Wendy’s Wonderful Kids program which partners with private and public adoption agencies to fund specially trained adoption recruiters. These recruiters work specifically to find adoptive homes for teenagers, children with special needs, and siblings who have been in foster care the longest, according to Soronen.
The Dave Thomas Foundation tries to find adoptive homes for children before they “age-out” of foster care – turn 18 or 21 years of age depending on the state. The Foundation understands that if a child ages-out of foster care they are more likely to be homeless, unemployed, and face a myriad of other issues.
The Foundation also has been urging states to put moratoria on youth’s aging-out of the system during the COVID pandemic, says Soronen. To date, through Soronen’s efforts, the Foundation has convinced 9 states and the District of Columbia to enact such moratoria.
The COVID-19 crisis has presented special problems for the Foundation’s work, but it has successfully pivoted to find ways of continuing its adoption efforts even through pandemic isolation.
The Foundation was recently highlighted by the “New York Times” for its pandemic efforts.
Many Americans have Mixed Views on Re-opening or Still Isolating
Economist Depicts Pandemic’s Pinch on Higher Education & the Average Family
Washington Coping with Fear on Multiple Fronts says TIME Correspondent
Will Colleges and Universities Have Students on Campus This Fall? – Criteria
Opening the Country Safely Without Politics Is Wish of Frontline Doctor
The Survival of Local News Media is a ‘Race Against Time’
Public Health Doctors Play a Major Role in Coronavirus Battle at Grassroots
Trust is the Most Important Element in Good Crisis Communication
Primary Care Physicians are on the Frontline of Battle against COVID-19
Honesty and Transparency are the Basics We Expect from Leaders: Expert Says
Health Care & Health Costs Expected to Dominate 2020 Presidential Election
Black Pioneers Helped Settle the Northwest Territory Long Before Civil War
White House Adviser for Rural Affairs Outlines Drug Crisis in Rural America
NYT Reporter Explains Covering Climate Change in the Age of Trump
LGBT Employment Rights Cases before U.S. Supreme Court Explained
“Not Far from Me” Tells Stories of Addiction from Those Directly Impacted
NPR Editor Breaks Down the Chaos after the death of Iranian Gen. Soleimani
Abdul Williams Shares Insights About his Career, Work, & Creative Process
Investigative Reporter Explains How She Covers Trauma and Trauma Victims
Foreign Correspondents Have Played Critical Roles in American Journalism
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Jim & Bill (It‘s Another Day)
HauntingLive
Dr. Paul’s Worldviews
The Ben Shapiro Show
Morning Wire