Freddie Mac Foundation and Washington Nationals Team Up to Help Region's 6,000 Foster Children

Renewed Partnership Recruits Adoptive Families, Raises Awareness at Home Games 


WASHINGTON, April 19  /PRNewswire/ -- Eating hot dogs and cheering for the home team is a pastime shared by many families, but for more than 6,000 foster children in this region special outings like these with a family of their own are only a dream.  Last night, the Freddie Mac Foundation and the Washington Nationals recommitted their joint efforts to help remedy that.  The Foundation and the Nationals will continue a partnership started nearly a year ago to help recruit adoptive families for more of our region's foster children as well as raise awareness of their plight.

As part of the renewed partnership, every Wednesday night home game is a "Freddie Mac Foundation's Wednesday's Child Game," when fans have a chance to learn more about the plight of foster children and find out what they can do to make a difference in a foster child's life.

"The Freddie Mac Foundation is in great part devoted to making a difference in the lives of foster children, and we are excited to continue to team up with the Washington Nationals to strengthen this work," says Ralph F. Boyd, Jr., chairman of the Foundation.

"The Nationals realize the importance of our corporate and community partners, and the Freddie Mac Foundation is one of those vital partners that enable us to reach out to our surrounding community and to help us accomplish our goals of creating powerful community partnerships that improve the lives of children and families throughout the Washington Capital Region," says Alphonso Maldon, senior vice president, External Affairs and president, Washington Nationals Dream Foundation.

Wednesday's Child Games expand on the Foundation's NBC4 television program "Wednesday's Child," which for 15 years has profiled children in need of adoption with the aim of finding them adoptive families.  The program airs weekly in Washington, DC as well as Los Angeles, Philadelphia, New York and Atlanta, and has successfully helped to find more than 1,000 children permanent homes.  In DC, the program is a partnership between the Foundation, NBC4 and the Council of Governments.  It airs on NBC4 during the news on Wednesdays at 5 pm, Thursdays at 10 am and Sundays at 9 am, and is hosted by Barbara Harrison.

Children who have been featured on the "Wednesday's Child" program, as well as other children in need of adoption, are guests at home games and get to meet a coach, deliver the line-up card and interact with Screech the mascot.  In addition, fans will have a number of opportunities through in- stadium messaging and radio promotions to learn about the issue of foster care and how they can get involved.

"This wonderful partnership offers foster children a memorable and possibly life-changing experience while reminding our community about the children's need for permanent, loving homes," says Boyd.

This initiative builds on numerous other Foundation efforts to improve the lives of foster children in the nation's capital and across the country. Through grants to nonprofits that support foster children and their families, as well as sponsorship of public awareness efforts such as National Adoption Day and the Heart Gallery, the Foundation has invested millions of dollars to improve the lives of children in the foster care system.

Created by Freddie Mac in 1991, the Freddie Mac Foundation is dedicated to creating hope and opportunity for children, youth, and their families.  As the largest corporate funder in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, Freddie Mac and the Freddie Mac Foundation have invested more than $312 million in organizations serving the community.   http://www.freddiemacfoundation.org/ 

DATASOURCE: Freddie Mac Foundation



CONTACT:  Patricia Fuentes, [phone], or Shawn Flaherty,

[phone], for Freddie Mac Foundation 



Web site:  http://www.freddiemacfoundation.org/ 

Copyright