No matter how well you play, you’ll do a world of good.
Today, right here in America, there are 159,000 children lingering in foster care, through no fault of their own, and who are waiting and dreaming of a forever family. Dave Thomas, an adopted child, once said, “These children are not someone else’s responsibility, they are our responsibility.” He created the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption to assure that every child could live in a loving and permanent home. By supporting the Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge, you are helping the Foundation encourage dynamic activities such as our signature program, Wendy's Wonderful Kids. In just four years, the program has served more than 4,200 children – identifying adoptive parents for 2,300 as a result of the aggressive and successful work of the 120 Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiters. The program is making tremendous progress to find permanent homes and loving families for the children in foster care. Your support and patronage of the Wendy’s 3-Tour Challenge can help the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption reach their goal of assuring that 10,000 children waiting to be adopted have a home – and their dream of a forever family.
Thank you.
Organizational Profile:
The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is a non-profit 501(c)(3) public charity dedicated to increasing the adoptions of the more than 159,000 children in North America’s foster care system. Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy’s® Old Fashioned Hamburgers, created the Foundation in 1992 in support of his vision that every child deserves a permanent home and a loving family. The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption focuses on increasing foster care adoption awareness while supporting model adoption service programs.
Vision: Every child will have a permanent home and a loving family.
Mission: Dramatically increase the number of adoptions of waiting children in North America.
One Child's Story:Every day, many children who have entered the foster care system, as victims of child abuse and neglect are ready for adoption. Often, they wait nearly five years to be adopted into loving, permanent families. When asked by a juvenile court judge why, at 17-years old, Mary Lee wanted to be adopted out of foster care, she said, "I want what everyone else has – a family." Today, Mary Lee is on her way to law school and is living her dream, thriving in a family of her own.
Implementing Signature Programs:- Adoption-Friendly Workplace
– This comprehensive campaign makes adoption more affordable by increasing the number of employers offering adoption benefits and promoting adoption-friendly workplaces.
- Wendy's Wonderful Kids
- This innovative program partners the Foundation, Wendy’s restaurants and local adoption agencies to support adoption recruiters across the nation. Each recruiter is solely dedicated to finding adoptive families for waiting children in their community.
- National Adoption Day
- The Saturday before Thanksgiving each year, the Foundation leads this national collaborative effort to promote and celebrate adoption through local and national activities and to expedite thousands of adoptions on one day.
- Leading Systems Change
- The Foundation works to impact public policy making foster care adoption easier and more affordable and the systems engaged in the process more accountable.
Funding Results-Driven Initiatives - In 2007, the Foundation awarded nearly $6.5 million in grants to local and national adoption organizations supporting results-based programs that moved waiting foster care children to loving adoptive homes. To learn more about the Foundation's work, please visit our web site, Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, or or call 1-800-ASK-DTFA.
Expanding Awareness of Foster Care Adoption - A Home for the Holidays – CBS, Children’s Action Network, Wendy’s and the Foundation host a one-hour television special each December featuring Hollywood stars, recording artists and successful adoption stories. This soul-stirring collaboration has generated thousands of adoption inquiries since its premier in 1999. A Child is Waiting... A Beginner’s Guide to Adoption - The Foundation provides more than 50,000 copies annually of the Guide, educating the general public about the adoption process.
National Research – In 2002, the Foundation launched groundbreaking research that measured adoption attitudes in the United States. This landmark study uncovered American’s perceptions about foster care and adoption. And last year, research was conducted once again with Harris Interactive to study the greatest myths about foster care adoption. Visit the web site for a comprehensive report. National Public Service Announcements (PSA) – Broadcast and print PSAs, created by the Foundation, encourage millions of viewers and readers to consider foster care adoption.
Materials – The Foundation supplies foster care adoption posters, educational videos, public service announcements and other items at no cost to adoption organizations and individuals, impacting thousands of potential adoptive families across North America.
Wendy’s 3-Tour Challenge – This professional golf tournament, featuring the PGA, LPGA and Champion's Tour, generates national awareness for foster care adoption programs. It is the largest fundraiser for the Foundation, raising more than $25 million since its inception.
Wendy’s Restaurants – The Foundation partners with Wendy’s restaurants to promote foster care adoption programs and awareness at the local level. Posters and trayliners in 6,000 restaurants encourage visitors to consider foster care adoption, and coin collection canisters invite customers to support the cause.
For more information go to Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.
