Belmont's Every Child Campus Status Reflects Comprehensive Family Support
Belmont University has been recognized as a 2025 Adoption Advocate by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. This designation celebrates organizations that offer financial reimbursement, paid leave or both to support employees pursuing adoption and foster care, making these life-changing and family-building options more accessible for working parents.
The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption's Adoption-Friendly Workplace program is in its 19th year and includes a diverse group of organizations representing 22 industries across the country. The Foundation partnered with RTI International, an independent, nonprofit research institute, to survey employers and recognize those providing meaningful adoption and foster care benefits to their employees.
"At Belmont, we believe in our responsibility to care for the vulnerable and support families throughout our community. This recognition reflects our commitment to creating meaningful pathways for family building through both adoption and foster care," said University President Greg Jones. "We will continue to work together to facilitate connections that transform lives. By investing our resources and supporting employees on their journeys to care for those around them, we're opening new doors of possibility and hope."
The University has implemented a comprehensive "Leave to Care for Vulnerable Children Policy" that provides time off for employees caring for children through foster parenting, kinship arrangements and guardianship/custody arrangements. Additionally, Belmont offers wraparound services coordinated by employee volunteers, including meals, gift cards, respite care and childcare support for families with foster and kinship placements.
As part of its broader commitment to vulnerable children, Belmont launched a Foster Care Team in June 2023 and has become an Every Child Campus, working alongside community partners like Every Child Tennessee, the Governor's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and Crowded Table to address the foster care crisis in Tennessee. The University's adoption benefits demonstrate its values-driven approach to employee care and its recognition that strong families contribute to a thriving campus community.
President & CEO of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, Rita Soronen, emphasized the importance of workplace adoption benefits: "We know that these benefits can play a role in a family's decision to grow through foster care or adoption. The organizations recognized this year demonstrate that these supports are not optional perks — they are essential elements of a workplace that values and strengthens families."
The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is a national, nonprofit public charity dedicated to finding permanent homes for the more than 140,000 children waiting in North America's foster care systems. Created by Wendy's® founder Dave Thomas, who was adopted, the Foundation implements evidence-based, results-driven national service programs, foster care adoption awareness campaigns, and innovative grantmaking.
About the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption
The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is a national, nonprofit public charity dedicated to finding permanent homes for the more than 140,000 children waiting in North America's foster care systems. Created by Wendy's® founder Dave Thomas, who was adopted, the Foundation implements evidence-based, results-driven national service programs, foster care adoption awareness campaigns and innovative grantmaking. More than 30 years ago, Dave Thomas led an initiative advocating for better adoption benefits in the workplace. The Foundation has carried that legacy forward through the Adoption-Friendly Workplace program, which recognizes organizations that offer best-in-class adoption and foster care benefits, offers a toolkit to help employers develop their policies and shares stories of impact.
Discover more about Belmont's work with foster care youth