To bring awareness to National Adoption Month, Foster Love - Together We Rise partnered with the Dave Thomas Foundation to hold an Adoption Festival in honor of the agency’s 100th adoption. That’s 100 children who will no longer have to relocate from home to home; 100 kids who will grow up in the safety of their forever families. The mission of the Dave Thomas Foundation is to bring children awaiting adoption and their prospective families together. The foundation supports Wendy’s Wonderful Kids, a program that strives to place children labeled as “unadoptable” in homes with a supportive family. The festival helped raise awareness for this crisis and had an attendance of over 600 people! McKinley’s 100th family received a grant of $1000 and roundtrip tickets to any JetBlue destination for a family vacation.

The festival hosted carnival games for children to enjoy and win triceratops and unicorn pillow pets! Children screamed with delight as the magician pulled out a 25 ft jumbo inflatable wand. The magician also performed card tricks and appeared to insert a sword through the neck of one of his volunteers. Our DJs also decked out McKinley’s basketball courts with entertainment. Especially popular were the video game trucks, bounce houses, and the princess booths that provided girls with a glam touch.

No party would be complete without fine grub, which was actually provided by none other than In-N-Out and Wienerschnitzel. For appetizers, we were able to indulge our guests with snowcones, popcorn, and cotton candy. Our volunteers worked tirelessly all day to set up and clean up after the event ended; it was well worth raising awareness for the National Adoption Month. We would like to give a special shout out to Dave Thomas Foundation, In-N-Out and Wienerschnitzel, as well as our sponsors for making all this happen!