September 24, 2015 (DUBLIN, Ohio) – Remember the first time you rode a bike, saw a movie or went on a family vacation? For some children in foster care, many of these moments happen only after they’ve waited years to find their forever family. Wendy’s® whose Founder Dave Thomas was adopted, is celebrating these “family first” moments this fall by featuring illustrations from four children who were adopted on Wendy’s beverage cups. In addition, to help create more of these moments, Wendy’s is launching its second nationwide Halloween Coupon Books in-restaurant fundraising initiative.
“Dave Thomas believed that children in foster care ‘aren’t someone else’s responsibility, they are our responsibility.’ Wendy’s continues to live out this value through fundraising and its partnership with the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption® (DTFA) to ensure that every child has the childhood they deserve,” said Liz Geraghty, VP of Wendy’s brand marketing. “We’ve dedicated ourselves and our Brand to help bring awareness to foster care adoption and raise critical funds needed to unite children in foster care with forever families.”
”Family First” Moments Come to Life
Illustrations on Wendy’s beverage cups depict four children’s individual experiences at the beach, the zoo, an amusement park, and celebrating a birthday with their forever family. Customers can visit wendys.com/adoption to see the children’s stories come to life and become a part of the “family first” moment by listening to and watching animated illustrations narrated or written by each child.
The children in these stories were part of Wendy’s Wonderful Kids®, a signature program of the DTFA that focuses on helping children who have been waiting the longest in the foster care system get adopted.
The featured stories include:
- Angel, 12 – Sometimes it only takes a nudge to change your life’s course. For Wendy, that nudge came when she heard an adoption commercial on the radio. Soon after, Wendy adopted Angel. Since then, both Wendy and Angel have found their entire lives, which now includes a dog named Ginger, changed for the better.
- Olivia, 11 – Born with special needs, Olivia had been in more than seven foster homes and was about to be placed in a private girls’ home when the Hargis family adopted her. As empty nesters, Lorie and Dwain Hargis felt called to adopt. Now Olivia has a stable home and loving forever family.
- Richard, 10 – Richard’s wish was to find a forever family. He requested that his Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiter save pictures of him to share with his family when they came for him. After four years and ten months in foster care, Gwen and Robert adopted Richard thanks to the special attention from Richard’s Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiter.
- Rigo, 16 – Rigo and Robert are proof that there is no boundary love cannot overcome. Many obstacles stood between Robert and his son – not only age, but the system’s concerns about race differences too. It took two years for the adoption to be finalized, but with the help of Rigo’s Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiter, the two are a family. Now, Rigo is active in his community as a Boy Scout, and he volunteers at his local food bank.
Halloween Coupon Books
In addition, from September 14 through November 1, Wendy’s will be selling Halloween Coupon Books, which include five or 10 free Jr. Frosty® coupons, for $1.* Proceeds from these sales will go to help find families for children waiting in foster care.** Last year, the Halloween Coupon Book program raised $3.6 million for the DTFA and programs such as Wendy’s Wonderful Kids.
About The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption
The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is a national nonprofit public charity dedicated exclusively to finding permanent homes for the more than 130,000 children waiting in North America’s foster care systems. Created by Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas who was adopted, the Foundation implements evidence-based, results-driven national service programs, foster care adoption awareness campaigns and innovative grant-making. To learn more, visit davethomasfoundation.org, or call 1-800-ASK-DTFA.
ABOUT THE WENDY’S COMPANY
The Wendy’s Company is the world’s third largest quick-service hamburger company. The Wendy’s system includes more than 6,500 franchise and Company restaurants in the United States and 29 countries and U.S. territories worldwide. For more information, visit www.aboutwendys.com or www.wendys.com.
