| August 2010-Wendy's Wonderful Kids |
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It was an exciting and joyous morning for a 10-year-old girl and 12-year-old boy in Sturgis. They have been in and out of foster care for several years and were adopted through the Wendy's Wonderful Kids program. Tonight in our Committed to Kids segment, we recognize the program and its dedication to increasing adoption numbers in South Dakota. This young boy and girl have been on a constant search for stability in their lives and finally they have found it. Chris Wasdin and Dennis Hilley were awarded official custody of them August 3rd. Wasdin and Hilley became foster parents through the Children's Home Society, which works with the Wendy's Wonderful Kids program here in South Dakota. The aim of the program is to find foster kids from the ages of 8 to 13 a permanent home.
Ann Lecy says, "I only specifically work with kids who are in the South Dakota foster care system, so our main focus is getting kids in our state adopted by families in our state, so I encourage all families who are considering adoption to really consider foster care adoption." She says that The Wendy's Wonderful Kids program has been active in South Dakota for three years and has found hundreds of foster kids loving parents. Lecy says, "We actually have about five adoptions happening in August so this is a really, big and exciting month for the Wendy's program." Wasdin and Hilley were both interested in adopting children who were older. They became foster parents and after spending six months with these kids they knew they had to make them official members of their family. Chris Wasdin says, "Don't be afraid, you don't realize what a support network you have until you start talking to your friends about it, its amazing to me how many people have said, 'oh I was a foster kid' or 'Oh I was adapted'." And that's just what Wendy's Wonderful Kids wants potential foster and adoptive parents to feel like. Lecy says, "Well a lot of people are nervous about adopting an older child, especially a child that has a history of abuse and neglect. But all these children need is permanency, they need an adoptive home.And lucky for these 2 children, they now have a mom and dad who will be there to celebrate exciting moments in their life and as well guide them and love them through tribulations as well." Wasdin and Hilley are ready for an adventure, knowing that everyday will bring new and exciting challenges. Dennis Hilley says, "Well we used to call it the "E ticket" at Disney World, its going to be fun, its going to be exciting, Its an incredible range of emotions, but the children, they need you." And the Wendy's Wonderful Kids program says this adoption is just one more example of how they are Committed to Kids. Amanda Weber |
