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Wendy's Restaurants Are Longtime Supporter Of Adoption, The Adoption Exchange

DENVER (CBS4) - Wendy's restaurants have always been a big supporter of adoption and The Adoption Exchange over the years.

"I've been with Wendy's for 28 years and our company's signature cause has always been to raise funds for The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, which is also known as DTFA. It was started by our founder, the late Dave Thomas who was also adopted himself. And our Wendy's restaurants in Colorado are very committed to helping achieve his vision of finding kids their forever homes," said Cristy Jones, Director of Area Operations with Wendy's.

Wednesday's Child Zoom intervew LSA.new.01_frame_38161
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DTFA developed an intensive recruitment program, called Wendy's Wonderful Kids. Recruiters work with smaller case loads, and do a deep dive in a child's life to find caring adults that the child feels connected to. In some cases they're able to find family members that were not identified before.

"We also found that this model has been three times more successful and that's why we want to make sure we fund as many recruiters as possible," Jones told CBS4.

Wednesday's Child Zoom intervew LSA.new.01_frame_45661
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"Why do you think adoption is so important?" asked CBS4's Britt Moreno.

"As you know, the world that we live in today is very different. It's difficult, and there are many families that are struggling to make ends meet. So for like children living in group homes or institutional care, they're more at risk of getting COVID-19. But even if they stay healthy, they still struggle with just the connection being separated from their communities, and a lot of times they don't have the technology to stay connected any ways. So as foster care families, the children who are in  there may have to move to another home, which is very sad, and it's obviously difficult, and another transition for them. So the negative effects of the COVID-19 crisis is really deepening our understanding of the need for permanency and everyday safety for familes annd homes. That's why today it's really important to support and help the adoption exchange raise funds, so that we can help fulfill Dave Thomas's vision of finding these kids a forever home," Jones replied.

Wendy's donated $10,000 to CBS4's A Day for Wednesday's Child. You can also help children living in foster care by calling The Adoption Exchange at (303) 755-4756.

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