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Day 4 Wednesday's Child Raises Money, Awareness For Adoption Exchange

DENVER (CBS4) On Wednesday, April 8, CBS4 will hold its annual Day for Wednesday's Child, a full day of raising money and awareness for the Adoption Exchange. For more than 30 years, the Adoption Exchange has been finding homes for children who are living in foster care.

"We want to create awareness. We want people to know about these kids, to learn about them, to understand the triumphs and the hardships that they have," said Lauren Arnold, Executive Director of The Adoption Exchange.

CBS4 partners with the Adoption Exchange every week to profile those children who are available for adoption during our Wednesday's Child segments. About 35 children are profiled each year. Then one day a year, CBS4 opens the phone lines, takes donations, and focuses on the families created through The Adoption Exchange.

"At The Adoption Exchange, we believe most importantly that every single child deserves a family," Arnold said.

Since 1983 when the organization began, more than 7,800 children have been placed in loving homes. Last year, The Adoption Exchange served 1,000 children and helped to place 47 of them with adoptive families.

"To do general recruitment, which is the very basics, it costs about $1,800 per child," Arnold explained.

General recruitment includes reaching out via the internet, email, social media, and television. The organization holds adoption events where kids and families can get to know each other. They offer support for families every step of the way through the adoption process. Money donated to The Adoption Exchange pays for all of those resources.

"We recruit families to help these children to bring them up through adulthood, but we also use it to support those families that do step up," Arnold told CBS4.

In Colorado, about 4,923 children are in foster care, nearly 300 of them are available for adoption. The Adoption Exchange focuses on the children who need the most help to find a new family.

"We primarily focus on kids age 8 and up, so we're focused on the older kids who need active recruitment," Arnold said.

Every year in Colorado, about 500 children "age out" of the foster care system at the age of 18. By the time these young adults reach the age of 24, 40 percent of them will have been homeless, 60 percent of the young men will have committed a crime, 17 percent of the young women will get pregnant, and 50 percent of them will abuse drugs or alcohol.

The Adoption Exchange wants to break this cycle by finding loving families for all the children in foster care, but especially the teens who will need support as they become adults.

"One child at a time… finding a good home… a permanent home… a loving home… somebody that can be there forever for the child," Arnold said.

During CBS4's Day for Wednesday's Child, you will see firsthand the difference that adoption is making in some young people's lives. You'll meet a young woman who "aged out" of the system but with the love and support of her foster family she's among the two percent of former foster kids who graduate from college.

You'll meet many of the children featured on Wednesday's Child who are still waiting for a family. There is a special collector's plate you can purchase for a $250 donation. There will be donation incentives throughout the day including a football signed by Broncos player T.J. Ward and a mini-helmet signed by Demaryius Thomas. CBS4 will take you live to an adoption party and to a Wendy's restaurant, one of the Adoption Exchanges biggest supporters.

Wendy's restaurants will hold a Community Night on Wednesday, April 8. Participating Wendy's restaurants in the Denver Metro Area, Northern Colorado or Mountains will donate 10 percent of sales on April 8 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. to A Day for Wednesday's Child.

To see a full list of participating restaurants, click here.

A Day for Wednesday's Child runs from 4:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 8. The phone number to call on that day is 303-831-HELP(4357) or you can donate online. Also, follow Britt Moreno on Facebook (BrittMorenoTV) and Twitter (@brittmorenotv) for an ongoing discussion of adoption topics.

Libby Smith is a Special Projects Producer at CBS4. If you have a story you'd like to tell CBS4 about, call 303-863-TIPS (8477) or visit the News Tips section.

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