2025 Recruiter of the Year: Darcy from Ontario
During the 2025 Wendy’s Wonderful Kids® Summit, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption-Canada recognized Darcy, a Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiter in Ontario, as a Recruiter of the Year.
Through our Wendy’s Wonderful Kids program, the Foundation supports the hiring of adoption recruiters, like Darcy, who are dedicated to finding permanent families for the longest-waiting children in foster care. That includes teenagers, children with special needs and siblings. These professionals use an evidence-based, child-focused recruitment model to find the right family for every child in their care. A rigorous, five-year evaluation in the United States revealed that children referred to Wendy’s Wonderful Kids are up to 3x more likely to be adopted.
“Darcy brings such enthusiasm, compassion and warmth to all the children that she meets. Her passion is contagious. Her urgency for permanency for our youth is unmatched,” shared Christina, a Wendy’s Wonderful Kids supervisor.
“What truly sets her apart is her ability to connect with the children and youth she works with. Whether it’s going fishing with a youth, building a birdhouse with an adoptive parent and child, facilitating sibling visits, or changing her vacation plans to celebrate a youth’s birthday, Darcy’s dedication to creating meaningful connections is unmatched.”
Darcy’s steadfast belief that “unadoptable is unacceptable” has fundamentally changed the approach to permanency at her agency. She remains committed to the model and has helped youth, families and various members of each child’s team recognize the importance of finding a safe, permanent family for every child.
“Everything we do is focused on the child’s lens. I love watching them grow. I love watching them feel safe,” said Darcy. “It’s all about the kids.”
Congratulations, Darcy, for this special honor, and thank you for your commitment to finding safe, permanent families for the longest-waiting youth in foster care.