208: National Adoption Month with Rita Soronen of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption

Have you ever eaten a meal at Wendy’s? Have you ever perused the list of top Adoption Friendly Workplaces? Have you ever felt an ache in your heart about children who are in foster care, growing up without a permanent family taking care of them, loving them, teaching them all the things people need to know to be independent and prosper?

You may already be acquainted with today’s guest, Rita Soronen, who is President and CEO of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. Dave Thomas founded Wendy’s restaurant chain in 1969. He was adopted as a very young child and became an advocate for foster children in his adulthood, founding the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption in 1992, with the mission of finding homes for children who need them. Did you know that each year, 20,000 teenagers age out of foster care, leaving them at higher risk of homelessness, unemployment, and other negative outcomes? The DTFA and Wendy’s Wonderful Kids programs are working to reduce that figure. Rita fills us in on ways YOU can help these children.

Show Notes

Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption

• Homepage

• Donate

• Adoption Guide

• Adoption Friendly Workplace Toolkit

• Store

Transcript

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About this Podcast

Lori Holden (The Open-Hearted Way to Open Adoption: Helping Your Child Grow Up Whole) brings to you an array of articulate and thought-provoking guests with lived experience in adoption, each with valuable insights to share about the all-encompassing journey of parenting an adopted person from babyhood to toddlerhood to school age to teenage -- and ultimately to adulthood. Join us as we explore Adoption: The Long View.

Named a Top 25 Adoption Podcast