Children’s Home Society (CHS) is proud to announce that the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption has named CHS Adoption Specialist Tina Graber a 2025 Wendy’s Wonderful Kids (WWK) Recruiter of the Year.
For nearly nine years, Graber has been a WWK Adoption Specialist at CHS. She dedicates her time to finding permanent, loving families for South Dakota’s longest-waiting children in foster care—including teenagers, children with special needs and sibling groups. She travels across the entire state making meaningful connections and searching for permanent families in accordance with WWK’s evidence-based, child-focused recruitment model—which has been found to be up to three times more effective at serving children who have been in foster care the longest.
“I feel very honored and humbled to receive this award,” said Graber. “It’s a privilege to work with these kids and find families that make them feel loved, supported and safe—and to remind them that they’re just regular kids.”
This year has been remarkably successful for Graber. She helped finalize 10 adoptions, with a few more in progress, and made six new pre-adoptive matches. She credits her success to not only hard work and determination, but to the power of teamwork.
“I’ve been doing this long enough that I’m used to hearing the word ‘no,’” said Graber. “I couldn’t do this on my own. I have a strong relationship with DSS and work with an incredible team. We all believe that there is a family out there for every child. That hope is what keeps me going—because it might just be the next phone call that I make where someone says ‘yes’ to helping a kid.”
Through the Wendy’s Wonderful Kids program, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption partners with agencies across the U.S and Canada to find permanent families for children waiting in foster care. In South Dakota, CHS serves as the WWK partner agency, with offices in Sioux Falls and Rapid City.
To learn more about Wendy’s Wonderful Kids and the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, visit www.davethomasfoundation.org.