Indiana Companies Make Adoption-Friendly List

Press Release

DUBLIN, OH (May 1, 2009) – The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption today announced the third annual America’s 100 Best Adoption-Friendly Workplaces list recognizing organizations nationwide for their adoption benefits. Wendy’s International, Inc. in Dublin, Ohio, earned the top spot for the second consecutive year with a maximum of $24,300 in financial assistance and up to six weeks paid leave. (Editor’s note: The Foundation is not an affiliate of Wendy’s International, Inc.)

“This is one of the highest honors our company can receive,” said David Karam, president of Wendy’s. “Dave Thomas was passionate for the cause of adoption, and he personally contacted hundreds of companies asking them to extend adoption benefits to employees. We’re extremely proud to follow his lead and help our employees realize the joys of adoption.”

Brenda Overturf has worked for Wendy’s for 25 years. She and her husband adopted two siblings from foster care, Jimmy and Gina, then 9- and 10-years-old. “Wendy’s adoption benefits are very important to us. Adopting from foster care was actually very affordable, but the need for time off was crucial,” she said.

“Wendy’s adoption leave allowed me to have the time off to bond with my children, to help them adjust to their new environment and to prepare for their new school,” Brenda added. “There are so many children out there who need a loving home, especially older children and sibling groups. Because people might be afraid of the expense and time involved in adoption, employers can change the life of a child by simply offering adoption benefits.”

Rankings for the 100 Best Adoption-Friendly Workplaces list are determined by an analysis of a company’s adoption benefits – financial reimbursement and paid leave – available to employees who adopt. The Foundation compiled the results from survey data collected from 753 U.S. employers. Employee Benefit News, a SourceMedia publication that is the leading source of information for benefits decision makers, helped extend the survey’s scope even further by inviting readers to participate.

This year more than 90 organizations established or enhanced adoption benefits. “We continue to see increases in the number of companies establishing and enhancing adoption benefit policies. Even with today’s tough economy, we found that companies are dedicated more than ever to providing competitive benefits packages to help their employees when they adopt,” said Rita Soronen, executive director of the Foundation. “It is one benefit that employers can add without negatively impacting the bottom line.”

Today, more than 150,000 foster care children are available for adoption in North America – 129,000 of them in the United States. Most will spend nearly four years in the system before they are adopted. The release of the third annual 100 Best Adoption-Friendly Workplaces list helps the Foundation increase foster care adoption awareness while celebrating those businesses that support adoptive families.

In addition to ranking the top 100, the Foundation also recognized the top ten by size, the leaders of each industry, and companies who support the cause of adoption and adoptive families in other ways. To view the complete list, please visit www.DaveThomasFoundationforAdoption.org.

About the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption
The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is a non-profit public charity dedicated to dramatically increasing the number of adoptions of foster care children in North America. Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy’s and an adopted child, created the Foundation in 1992 in support of the vision that every child will have a permanent home and a loving family. The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption focuses on increasing foster care adoption awareness while supporting model adoption service programs and is committed to ensuring that adoption from the foster care system in streamlined, affordable and accessible to any family wanting to adopt. To learn more about the Foundation’s work, go to www.DaveThomasFoundationforAdoption.org.

Media: Please visit our Newsroom for size and industry winner news releases and our Adoption-Friendly Workplace web pages for more details.

Source: Dave Thomas Foundation