AKB & Dream Makers Project Receive 2019 Adoption Excellence Award
The Adoption Excellence Awards were presented to 12 recipients at a ceremony November 12th in Washington, DC. The awards recognize the extraordinary contributions made supporting positive permanency outcomes for children in foster care. America’s Kids Belong and our Dream Makers project received the 2019 Adoption Excellence Award in the category Business Contributions/Initiatives. AKB was nominated by Assistant Secretary Lynn Johnson of the Administration of Children and Families, US Department of Health and Human Services. Congratulations to AKB Co-Founders, Brian & Julie Mavis and Janet & Ryan Kelly, and to Lori Bruegman, National Project Director of Dream Makers.
At the event, Vice President Pence recognized America’s Kids Belong for their work saying, “America’s Kids Belong matches older children and youth aging out of foster care with generous supporters. They are meeting their basic needs, connecting them with new opportunities, including employment and helping them achieve their dreams.”
Currently, 125,000 children in foster care are waiting to be adopted. Federal Government leaders have pledged to help end this crisis for these children, including Lynn Johnson, Assistant Secretary for the Administration of Children and Families and Alex Azar, Secretary of Health & Human Services.
We were honored to receive this prestigious award. To date, the Dream Makers Project has raised more than $700,000 for youth aging out of the foster care system without a forever or adoptive family. That funding has been used to purchase new furniture for a first apartment, a laptop for college, job training, and other essentials for the life transition that occurs when someone turns 18.
