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Welcome to The Foster Friendly Podcast. We’re bringing foster care closer to home by sharing stories from the front lines. We're talking with former foster youth, foster parents and others who are finding unique and powerful ways to dramatically improve the experiences and outcomes for kids in foster care.
The Foster Friendly podcast is brought to you by America’s Kids Belong, a nonprofit that helps kids in foster care find belonging in both family and community.
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:26:10
Unknown
Welcome to the foster Friendly podcast, where we come together to make a difference in the lives of children in foster care and the families who care for them. Foster friendly communities are part of a nationwide movement by America's Kids Who Belong. That helps people from all walks of life take action and help kids and families thrive. You'll hear from former foster youth, foster and adoptive parents, social workers, faith and business leaders, and other experts on how to engage in meaningful ways.
00:00:26:12 - 00:00:37:05
Unknown
Our host Bryan, Travis and Courtney explore inspiring stories of everyday people making a difference in foster care, where they live and work.
00:00:37:05 - 00:01:13:17
Unknown
Welcome to another episode of the Foster Family podcast. I'm your host, Travis Fondness. I'm joined by my co-host Courtney Williams, and together we're excited to talk to you. Our guest today, Ariana Rodriguez, who was crowned Miss Kentucky 2025 on June 14th. So at the time of this recording, that was not very long ago. Her service initiative, the lucky Ones, brings hope, dignity and empowerment to youth in foster care, the lucky ones as a deeply personal mission for her, rooted in her own experience as a foster child and the belief that every young person, regardless of their circumstances, deserves dignity, joy and opportunity.
00:01:13:23 - 00:01:32:04
Unknown
Inspired by her journey and driven by a commitment to advocacy. Welcome to the podcast, Ariana. Thank you. I'm so happy to be here and to be able to welcome guys. Yeah, we're excited to have you. Okay. I just got to know we are chatting a little bit before we started recording. Like Travis and I don't know anything about Miss Tucky.
00:01:32:04 - 00:01:54:20
Unknown
Miss like how all this all works. So we we've got a little education already. But just curious, what led you to run for Miss Kentucky? Kind of. Where did that journey start, and what was it like when you were crowned? Yeah. So actually, after I exited the foster care system, I became homeless at 16 years old. And so the last two years of high school, I was living out of my car and living with friends.
00:01:54:22 - 00:02:19:10
Unknown
And I knew that I wanted to go to college, but I didn't know how I was going to afford it. I found out during my senior year of high school that I left foster care 26 days too early to receive any financial aid, so I was looking online for talent competitions because I've earned a little bit of money from that in my past, just doing talent competitions and winning, and you get a little scholarship.
00:02:19:15 - 00:02:45:11
Unknown
So I looked it up and I found the miss my old Kentucky home organization, which is a preliminary competition to Miss Kentucky. And I put all of my college savings into competing, and I lost and realized that I hadn't won. I walked off stage, as you do, and I was crying in the hallway, and the director of the pageant came up to me, and she said, if you want to go to Miss Kentucky, we'll get you there.
00:02:45:17 - 00:03:05:14
Unknown
So she put a post out on Facebook just saying, hey, I have this girl who's really interested in competing. Would you guys be willing to help support, like her funding of the Miss Kentucky journey? Because it cost a lot to do. Pageants and people from across the state and across the nation joined in and raised enough money to send me to Miss Kentucky.
00:03:05:14 - 00:03:28:20
Unknown
And I competed one year as a teen and then two years as miss. And this past year I won some. Yeah. So what was that like, big, that crowning moment when you found out that you won? It was so insane. I didn't think that I would ever even have the opportunity to compete in this Kentucky. So when they called my name, I was just in shock.
00:03:28:22 - 00:03:49:00
Unknown
In all of the videos that my then family took, you can hear them saying, she's going to pass out. She's going to. Because I was I was just so in shock. All I was saying up there was, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, I probably said it 50 times. It's crazy. And something that I will definitely never forget.
00:03:49:02 - 00:04:12:08
Unknown
I'm curious coming from, you know, being homeless and then jumping into this like who who were your supports to that? Yeah, I had a lot of people that supported me throughout my school journey. So I had a lot of teachers that really just poured into me. The teachers specifically were in charge of the band and theater and color guard programs, which I was like very heavily involved in in high school.
00:04:12:10 - 00:04:36:03
Unknown
And I would I'm going to name them. They might not like that, but Mr. Lee, Miss Roll said. And Mr. Fletcher, they were my band and choir and theater teachers, and any time that I couldn't make it to an appearance, they would come and pick me up. They would, make sure that there was lunch in their room so that if I, you know, didn't like what the school had, I would still be able to eat lunch.
00:04:36:03 - 00:04:58:10
Unknown
And I used to just go eat in the band rooms, and they were just so supportive. And aside from academics, probably my brother and sister there, both him and me. But they are my support system. They support me in anything that I do, no matter how crazy it seems. And I just love them so much. Beauty pageant winner in Kentucky is unbelievable.
00:04:58:10 - 00:05:19:03
Unknown
And so yeah, I love the shout out. That's super cool too. Those people need to be mentioned because yeah, they're heroes in a way. So after you winning the title Miss Kentucky, you won a $20,000 scholarship and sort of what are your future, you know, kind of plans from there with majoring in school and what you're kind of hoping at this point to do in your future?
00:05:19:05 - 00:05:50:00
Unknown
Yeah. Well, first of all, I actually won $27,000. So I mean, like the $20,000 scholarship for winning Miss Kentucky. But I want a lot of preliminary scholarships also. So I went away with almost $30,000, which is insane. But after this year, after I serve my term as the spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture and as Miss Kentucky, I intend to go back to the University of Kentucky and continue my degree in Social Work and Psychology.
00:05:50:02 - 00:06:12:06
Unknown
Very cool, very cool. Yeah, I love it. Okay, so you shared a little bit, but let's dive into your story a little bit. I mean, you know, obviously what it's like to navigate uncertainty, to long for stability and to dream for a future that feels probably out of reach at many times, you know, in your journey, share with us about your journey and care and how it got to where you are today.
00:06:12:08 - 00:06:35:01
Unknown
Yeah, so I spent eight years in kinship care and two years in foster care. I lived in probably about 20 different houses throughout my entire journey. And when I was younger and I was in the court system, I never had the opportunity to talk to a judge. I probably wrote 50, 60 letters to different judges that I had, and none of them ever got to them.
00:06:35:03 - 00:06:55:09
Unknown
When I was 14, that was the first time that I was actually able to go and speak to a judge and tell them what I wanted, and I found that they just didn't listen to what I wanted. That fueled my advocacy, because it really ignited a passion in me to share with the world that when we're making decisions about kids lives, kids should be at the forefront of those decisions.
00:06:55:11 - 00:07:21:00
Unknown
I understand a little bit about the fact that, you know, they are kids, and it's easy to hear what other people are saying and kind of take that and make the courts think that, you know, your opinions are not your own. I get that. And also you have to be very careful with working with children. But underneath of that, I mean, these kids are treated like adults in every other situation other than the court setting.
00:07:21:00 - 00:07:43:08
Unknown
And so I remember being in foster care and kind of raising like younger brother and sister. I was doing everything that an adult would have done, but I wasn't taken seriously. And so I really use my platform as West Kentucky to advocate for the fact that when we're making decisions about children, children should be at the forefront of those conversations.
00:07:43:10 - 00:08:15:16
Unknown
Yeah. I really love that. I think that's it's well said. Reminds me we've had a previous guest on who also was homeless and part of her story and raising her siblings and she wanted to become get her doctorate. And you know, advocacy is the forefront of what she does too. But one of the things that you said that reminded me also of kind of this conversation was that she talked about how if you're a foster parent, you know, that's something we don't maybe we either minimize or just don't take seriously enough that kind of self-empowerment, that advocacy for the kids in our care.
00:08:15:18 - 00:08:42:08
Unknown
And I think one of the points that was raised in that conversation is that, you know, a lot of kids, too. They don't know what that looks like. Maybe they've, you know, just from all the trauma and all the things that they've dealt with, you know, and I think your self-esteem can take a massive hit. So even to understand, like, I'm worthy to advocate for, I mean, talk about intimidating for anybody to face a judge, but then to be, you know, kind of in the space of foster care where you can feel so marginalized and lost.
00:08:42:10 - 00:09:13:18
Unknown
And so I think her point with foster parents is, yeah, bring them into your presence and also let them see you advocating for them, you know, too. So yeah, I love that these kids need to know that they are supported in more ways than just financially. I think a lot of foster parents focus on that part. You know, a lot of people see children in foster care and they think, okay, you've never had the basic necessities, but what they really need is that social support because that will go further than money ever will.
00:09:13:20 - 00:09:38:05
Unknown
Yeah, definitely. And so kind of moving this forward into the lucky ones foundation that you, you started and or the president of, I understand. And so it's a multifaceted program that supports children in foster care and empowers youth through practical education and personal connection. So tell us more about that program and kind of the vision behind it.
00:09:38:06 - 00:10:03:16
Unknown
Yeah. So I started this initiative when I was, 17 years old and still homeless myself. I knew that something had to change, and I realized that no one else was doing it. Then the Lucky Ones Foundation is I, like you said, a multifaceted organization. Our two main goals are to educate the public about the issues of the foster care system and amplify the voices of those who have experienced it themselves.
00:10:03:21 - 00:10:28:03
Unknown
So we talked a little bit about amplifying the voices of youth in foster care, but I want to touch base a little bit about educating the public. So most of the people who don't have like direct relation with children in foster care or the foster care system don't know what it's like to be in foster care. And as Miss Kentucky, I realized that a lot talking to different people in the community every single day.
00:10:28:05 - 00:10:47:17
Unknown
People will ask the silliest questions. A lot of people don't know why kids go into foster care. I've had people come up to me and think that the only reason that children go into foster care system is because their parents passed away. And there are so, so, so many reasons why children enter foster care and why they stay in foster care.
00:10:47:19 - 00:11:08:20
Unknown
And so we really found early on with The Lucky Ones Foundation that people just didn't understand the system. And that's why I started The Lucky Ones podcast, my podcast where I interview alumni of the foster care system and social workers and legislators to give the general public an idea of what it looks like on the inside of the foster care system.
00:11:08:22 - 00:11:30:14
Unknown
I love it, yeah, tell us more. I also was reading online and saw the different facets that you got going on. Tell us about the Life skill series, because I know as a foster mom who fosters primarily teens, I feel like this is one thing that which is really neat to wrap around these kids, especially if they're going to age out or don't have that permanency when they leave to really support them so that they don't, you know, leave our home feeling like they have no hope for their future.
00:11:30:16 - 00:11:53:04
Unknown
Yeah, definitely. So as an alumni of the foster care system system myself, I understand that when you're in foster care, your main focus is always going to be on surviving and taking care of yourself. And so you never really think about those adult tasks that you really need to be thinking about. Because you're so focused on just surviving, you never learn how to do your taxes.
00:11:53:07 - 00:12:12:07
Unknown
I didn't know until I started competing within the Miss America organization how to dress for an interview or what to put on a resume. So this organization really taught me a lot of the life skills that I didn't learn in foster care. And so I really wanted to use my platform to educate alumni of the foster care system about those things.
00:12:12:09 - 00:12:30:04
Unknown
It's an online series where we teach them life skills that they need. Some are as simple as, how do you start a washing machine? How do you do laundry on your own? And we advance into mindset work. We've taught kids, you know, how to do your taxes, how to change a tire. We really try to meet them where they're at.
00:12:30:05 - 00:12:51:00
Unknown
We started a mentorship program with Benchmark Family Services of Lexington, Kentucky, and we go in and we teach kids, you know, what they need to learn because there's no one size fits all kids in foster care than it is for non children in foster care. Everyone is so different and they need different things. So we really try to meet these kids where they're at.
00:12:51:05 - 00:13:08:12
Unknown
Some people need to learn how to drive, others just need a dress to wear to prom. So we really talk to the kid and ask them what they want. Because again, that's one of our main goals is to not give them a voice, because a lot of people like to say, give foster youth a voice, but they already have a voice.
00:13:08:12 - 00:13:29:12
Unknown
It's just a diminish. So we try to amplify their voices and truly listen to what they need and what they want. I love that, yeah, the amplify that's so powerful. So you're based out of Kentucky. Can anybody use some of the foundation things or is it just for people that live in Kentucky, foster youth or youth in Kentucky?
00:13:29:14 - 00:13:51:16
Unknown
So our primary focus right now is on the southern bluegrass region of Kentucky. But as I advanced throughout my years, Miss Kentucky, I would love to expand it as much as possible. We have some initiatives, like the Lucky Ones podcast and like the Life skill series that are online. So anyone from across the country can use them and take advantage of those resources.
00:13:51:18 - 00:14:16:16
Unknown
A lot of our initiatives are local to the southern bluegrass region of Kentucky, like our suitcase initiative and our, gift bag project, where we give suitcases to children who are typically given trash bags. And we also collect gifts for Christmas and their birthday so that they have a sense of normalcy in their lives. And that is local to Kentucky.
00:14:16:18 - 00:14:37:04
Unknown
Okay. You mentioned your podcast. So curious, what are your hopes for the podcast? Kind of why did you start it? You shared a little bit about that and then maybe to share with us your favorite guest so far or one of your favorite guests. Yeah. So again, I started it to educate the public about the issues of the foster care system and allow youth and foster care to tell their own story.
00:14:37:06 - 00:15:02:06
Unknown
A lot of times when you're in foster care, people are telling your story for you. I really wanted to allow a space where kids can go and just share their life from their perspective. My favorite guest was probably my little sister. I just love her so and it was so interesting to me to see her perspective because my brother and I went into foster care, but my sister did not.
00:15:02:06 - 00:15:25:20
Unknown
She stayed with our biological parents, and so that was very interesting to see. You know, we did go in foster care, but there were a lot of issues that pertained to her as well. So that was really interesting. My sister is very shy and she doesn't love talking about, how she feels, but it was so sweet to hear her open up and share her story.
00:15:25:22 - 00:15:34:20
Unknown
And just to hear her passion for helping other people who were in similar situations just is so inspiring to me.
00:15:34:22 - 00:15:57:23
Unknown
That's very cool, little sister. Yes, you said so. And feel free to answer this or not. Or how you want to say it, but out of curiosity, because I as I'm listening. So she you guys went into care, but she she did not she remained with your biological parents. So can you just kind of in a way that you feel like you can say anything to that of just in that scenario?
00:15:58:04 - 00:16:25:00
Unknown
Yeah. I'm not sure why the court system decided to do it that way. My little sister was very, very young. I think maybe two when we entered into foster care, maybe a little bit older. But she relied on her mother a lot more than we did. And so I think that the rationale behind that was she was so young that it would have been more detrimental to put her into foster care.
00:16:25:02 - 00:16:43:17
Unknown
Honestly, I wasn't the social workers on that. Yeah, that was always, yeah, on that. Yeah. Well, that's thanks for being. Yeah. Just sharing a little more on that because I know I think in my mind it's like automatically it's like, well, if any kids are removed or go into care, they all are. But that's not necessarily a case where when some cases.
00:16:43:17 - 00:17:03:22
Unknown
Yeah. Yeah. Well, if you so. Okay, this sounds like maybe a question almost from a pageant contest, but it's a good one, though. If you could change one thing about the foster care system, what would you what would it be?
00:17:04:00 - 00:17:36:06
Unknown
Social workers need to listen to kids. That is just the baseline. You can give them all of the financial resources that they need. You can give them all of the social support that they need. But if children don't feel like they're seen and heard, they're not going to accept that information or those, tangible gifts at all. That is what kids need the most is someone in their corner who is listening to them, who is advocating on behalf of what they want and not what other people around them think that they want.
00:17:36:08 - 00:18:05:01
Unknown
The baseline of any conversation when we're dealing with foster care kids who have experienced it themselves need to be at the table. And not only do they need to be at it, but they need to be leading these conversations because the children who have experienced the system are the only ones who actually understand it completely. I know that so many times social workers or legislators try to explain the foster care system without having that personal insight, and it just never works.
00:18:05:01 - 00:18:27:03
Unknown
Truly, you cannot make real change without focusing the conversation on who has experienced it themselves. Yeah for sure. And we've talked many times in this podcast about how we just see shifts, you know, like something goes wrong. And so they try to shift it one way and then they try to shift it back. And it's like it's always like this ship that's just never really steering.
00:18:27:03 - 00:18:46:03
Unknown
It's always going one way or the other. And really like keeping the kids at the center needs to be the thing that should never change, right? Our policies might change or whatnot, but not that. Yes, and in every situation, no matter how crazy it is, children need to feel like they have a voice. They need to feel important.
00:18:46:03 - 00:19:14:15
Unknown
And even as the court system doesn't allow exactly what the child wants to happen, they still need to feel like they had some kind of say in it and wanting to be a part of that conversation, even if they don't get exactly what they want. And then there's you mentioned it earlier, but there is some as a foster parent, there's some love hate with that, because in Colorado, just a few years ago, they changed it to, so they have jails.
00:19:14:17 - 00:19:31:12
Unknown
Everybody has one. But now at age 12, they get CFI, which is Council for youth, and it's a, you are there counsel specifically for them that they get to tell their lawyer whatever they want? They're the lawyers for to fight for exactly what they want. Totally get it. And I agree with that. And then in that big way.
00:19:31:14 - 00:19:58:22
Unknown
But then there's some little intricacies that are just, you know, like if a youth as meeting with their CFI and they tell them like, hey, I'm going to harm myself tonight, they're not even supposed to tell us that because it's all confidential. I'm like, we should know to be able to protect them. You know, there's certain things that I don't necessarily agree with, but I do agree with, like the concept of it, of them getting a voice, you know, age 12, but then it's also higher, like we've had some 16 year olds who are developmentally or like eight year old, you know, and and it's like, how do you at what age should they be
00:19:58:22 - 00:20:17:14
Unknown
given that full voice? What age is that like? We're always listening to them, right? I should be listening to them. But like that, that say in court sometimes it's like, oh, you know, but again, I don't know what's best for the kid all the time. Right. But it's just it's so hard to really make this systematic change when it's like, not this one size fits all type thing.
00:20:17:14 - 00:20:42:06
Unknown
Yeah, yeah. That's okay. Yeah, that's good nuance. There are challenges with any policy, you know, and it's a progress. And I think one thing that would help with creating these policies and making them better is paying our social workers better, because we don't have social workers and they don't have the time to really look at every case and decide what's best for that child.
00:20:42:06 - 00:21:20:09
Unknown
So we have to make these policies that are kind of overarching. Like we said before, it's not one size fits all. Every family, every child is different. And so it's a really difficult situation for. Yeah well good. The good comments there too. And I think to the complexity of it like you both have talked about, and I think we've talked about on this podcast a lot and how so many of these issues are domino type events because, you know, to your point, Arianna, like if when foster, caseworkers aren't paid enough, you know, and we just know the high stress and burnout and then when pay is part of that equation to lower pay.
00:21:20:11 - 00:21:38:11
Unknown
We're just burning through caseworkers. And what then we see is obviously then kids can languish more in care or things aren't, you know, because it's just the trade off between the care isn't, you know, between the next caseworker, things get lost and delayed and blah, blah. So it's like that compounds the time and care. Potentially it can hold up a lot of things.
00:21:38:11 - 00:21:57:05
Unknown
And so yeah, all these things are so interconnected. And like you said, Courtney two of like I was thinking just in cases where we've foster and things and you've seen kids be empowered to make decisions and again, we're cheering that on. But then you kind of at some points to go like a 14 year old making, you know, having to wait to make a decision like that.
00:21:57:05 - 00:22:21:17
Unknown
Wow. I don't know that I could make that a 25. And it, you know, later in their life where they've made a different decision. But still there's no, like you said, one size fits all. It's not perfect. But I think we could all agree that youth centric voice at the forefront is what we're all cheering on. Yeah. I'm also just curious about the whole pageant side of things.
00:22:21:19 - 00:22:40:05
Unknown
You know, I've watched pageants online or on TV and stuff before, but I don't really know, like how it works behind the scenes. So you kind of take, a cause on is that kind of like. So foster care was kind of like the cause that you're a. What's it called? How does that kind of work when you, when you take, take something like that on as a pageant contestant.
00:22:40:07 - 00:23:07:05
Unknown
Yeah. So as Miss Kentucky, I have a platform online of about, I would say 100,000 followers across platforms. And that's a pretty big platform. And you're going across the state and spreading messages. And so when you start within the pageant in your industry, you have to take on a community service initiative. So I chose the Lucky Ones Foundation as my community service initiative because it is just so close to my heart.
00:23:07:07 - 00:23:29:18
Unknown
And you would dance that throughout your year of service. So when you win a local preliminary competition, you, you get the sash and the crown and people look at that and they look at you and they listen a little bit more, you know, the crown gets their attention. But what you say really grabs their intention, and it gives us the platform to be able to talk about the issues that we care about the most.
00:23:29:18 - 00:23:46:00
Unknown
And so that is why they started the Community Service Initiative project, and we just advanced that throughout the years. So once you win your state competition, you know, that becomes even bigger and you're given a bigger platform. And if I were to win Miss America, I would have a huge platform for the causes that I care about them.
00:23:46:00 - 00:24:06:00
Unknown
Of. So it's really my favorite part of competing in pageants is the platform that it gives you to advocate for the issues that you care about. I love that, and I it kind of makes me think too. Like, so when you won, I imagine some of the emotions are not just Ariana. I won this and all the work and all how I got here.
00:24:06:02 - 00:24:24:11
Unknown
I mean, all of that's there too. But then like that issue that, you know, you care so deeply about is going is coexisting with you winning like so that has the feel, you know, huge I mean that that sort of, you know, your foundation is part of the, you know, a growing audience for that too. So yes, definitely.
00:24:24:11 - 00:24:47:15
Unknown
I mean, our initiatives have grown tremendously since I won because more people hear about it and more people hear my story, and they're just more encouraged to donate to initiatives like mine, even if they don't donate to the Lucky Ones Foundation, you know, they learn more about the foster care system and what it's like to be a kid in foster care, and that that is influential in itself.
00:24:47:17 - 00:25:11:12
Unknown
Yeah. Tell us how your life has changed, you know, just since June 14th and it's only been going on two months now. How has your life changed? I don't know that anything has stayed the same. So when you win the title of Miss Kentucky, you're awarded a $20,000 scholarship. You receive a car from Paul Miller, most of Lexington.
00:25:11:14 - 00:25:34:12
Unknown
I actually got a townhouse sponsored. And you just receive so much support from the state of Kentucky and from across the nation that I've just never gotten before. As an alumni of the foster care system, I didn't have that social support that the people around me had growing up. And so I've really gotten a lot more support than I ever thought was possible.
00:25:34:12 - 00:25:40:23
Unknown
Since competing. And it is just changed my life and extraordinary ways.
00:25:41:01 - 00:26:01:19
Unknown
And what's your day to day look like? Different every single day. So when I won the title of Miss Kentucky, I was appointed as the honorary spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture for the state of Kentucky. Agriculture is really important in our state. And I mean, it's important anywhere you know, you rely on farmers three times a day, breakfast, lunch.
00:26:01:21 - 00:26:29:14
Unknown
And so I really go around and advocate for farmers. I don't know if you all know this, but many farmers unfortunately take their lives because they're the strain. You know, it's all dependent on chance. One year it might not rain. Yeah, it too. And that is an issue in itself. And with big corporations, you know, producing foods at a higher level than farmers can, it really, really puts a strain on farmers.
00:26:29:14 - 00:26:52:11
Unknown
And so we actually just started an initiative called the Mash Barn, where we bring health care to farmers so that they can have those resources since they don't typically seek it out themselves. And so we are able to do that initiative. And I'm also able to go into schools and teach kids about healthy farm to table foods and really understanding where their food comes from.
00:26:52:16 - 00:27:09:06
Unknown
A lot of kids don't understand that. They think the food comes magically from the grocery store. So as Miss Kentucky, I'm able to not only educate them about the foster care system, but also to educate them about farmers and about where their food comes from.
00:27:09:08 - 00:27:36:00
Unknown
And where, as they say, it rebuffs. As I say, yeah, we're both from North Dakota, so we were born and raised around farming community, so we we understand that. Yeah, but the Kota leads the nation certain categories of small grain productions of that. And I grew up farming myself. So, you know, and so when you talk about like, the mental health toll and you said it well, like the weather, you know, it's a very strange location where it's so, you know, the weather changes everything and you can't predict anything.
00:27:36:00 - 00:28:01:11
Unknown
So. Yeah. Yeah. Well we do appreciate you taking time out of your very busy schedule. You were telling us before we started recording that your voice is you're speaking pretty much all day, every day right now. So thank you for joining us and giving us part of your voice. But we want to ask you one last question that we often end our podcast with asking you, how would you finish the sentence, what kids in foster care really need is love?
00:28:01:12 - 00:28:11:05
Unknown
Definitely. There's nothing that is more influential in a person's life than love and support.
00:28:11:06 - 00:28:31:14
Unknown
I love how you add the support because it's not just like love is love, right? But then it's like that. Love looks so deep when you really give it well to a kid in care and it's more than just loving them. It's supporting them and encouraging them. And amplifying their voice. As we heard from you today. Yes. Yes, ma'am.
00:28:31:16 - 00:28:44:21
Unknown
Well, that's a great way to go. Oh, what a what a great ending. Yeah. So thank you so much for joining us today on the podcast. Thank you all. So much for having me. And I hope you have a great day. You too. Bye you guys.
00:28:44:21 - 00:29:04:15
Unknown
We hope you enjoyed today's episode. If so, will you help us reach more people by subscribing, sharing the podcast with a friend and leaving a five star review? If you've been inspired by what you've heard today and want to learn more of how you can make a difference for kids in foster care and the foster families where you live, visit America's Kids Belong, dawg.
00:29:04:16 - 00:29:31:14
Unknown
We depend on individual donors to fund our work. We'd be grateful if you'd consider joining us as a monthly donor. Visit America's Kids the.org to make your tax deductible donation. Thank you. Together, we can ensure a family for every child in foster care and a foster friendly community to ensure every foster family feels love and supported.