This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Wendy’s for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.
My family and I drove through Wendy’s the other day and everyone ordered a meal (The 4 for $4 meals are awesome for large families FYI!) When we got home and sat down, the kids were reading their cups, because how often are kids drawings featured on cups?! They thought this was pretty cool. I explained to them that these are illustrations created by adopted kids that show special “family first” moments, and they thought that was even cooler.
See, my kids can relate. These are the moments they have experienced themselves. Our two oldest kids came home almost two years ago and our youngest two came home only a few months ago. It’s so neat to watch the special “firsts” they get to experience. We went on our annual family vacation to Minnesota in August, only one month after our boys joined the family. If they were to draw a “family first” photo it might look a lot like Olivia’s drawing, which was on our cups!
This year, Olivia went on a beach vacation with her family for the first time. She was 10.
The four separate drawings, featured this November for National Adoption Month, bring to life the power of foster care adoption through a child’s eyes, highlighting everyday family moments that most of us take for granted, such as a day at the beach, an amusement park, a trip to the zoo or even a birthday party. You can even watch these children’s stories come to life by visiting www.wendys.com/adoption In adoption, it’s so important to listen to the voices of adopted children. Their thoughts, feelings and opinions are what matters most.
As an adopted child, Wendy’s founder, Dave Thomas, knew first-hand the importance of having a family. He founded the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption in 1992 and Wendy’s has passionately supported the foundation, which works to find permanent, loving homes for more than 130,000 children waiting in North America’s foster care system. To date, the Wendy’s Wonderful Kids program has served more than 11,500 children and has helped more than 4,500 children be adopted.
The artwork on Wendy’s cups was drawn by four children who have been adopted through the Wendy’s Wonderful Kids Program. The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption worked with Wendy’s to establish the Wendy’s Wonderful Kids Program to focus on children who have been waiting the longest in the foster care system, many times these are older kids. My children are still young, but I have experienced older child adoption as well. My brother was adopted at age 12. Although there have been challenges, I know our family is blessed to have him in our lives.
Children referred to the Wendy’s Wonderful Kids program are up to three times more likely to get adopted. Through the program, more than 5000 children in foster care have been adopted into permanent, loving homes!
Dave Thomas believed that children in foster care “aren’t someone else’s responsibility, they are our responsibility.” Wendy’s continues to support that belief through fundraising and collaboration with the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. Visit Wendy’s adoption page to learn how you can support children waiting in foster care.
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