On a human level, I believe we are all here to be of service and to love,” says Anita Siraki. “By supporting Wayfinder, I feel I am doing a part of that duty.” In addition to donating to Wayfinder, Anita is a member of Wayfinder’s Impact Council. The council is a group of professionals who…
Aaronique is living proof that children placed in kinship care with extended family members or close family friends thrive in stable, permanent homes with loving guardians. When she was 5 years old, child welfare workers removed Aaronique from the care of her biological mother who suffered from substance addiction. The little girl went directly into…
Enthusiastic students are returning to Wayfinder’s Special Education School! Among the happy students is Danielle, age 13, who is excited to return for her second year. Danielle is blind and has developmental delays. Her mother, Corinna, transferred Danielle to Wayfinder’s school because she needs more specialized services for visual impairment than she was receiving in…
“As magical as conceiving and childbirth are, adoption has its own amazing pattern of birth,” says Ed Condon, “a birth of the hearts.” About 30 years ago, Ed and his husband, Norman Lorenz, reached out to foster-to-adopt agencies because they wanted a family life with children. But at that time, agencies weren’t welcoming to a…
Doctors told Mateo’s family he would not survive, but he proved them wrong Mateo is a blessing,” says his mother Karinna. Doctors had predicted that Mateo had no future. But in Wayfinder’s Early Intervention Program, the little boy’s progress has inspired his close-knit family. On one fateful day when she was seven months pregnant, Karinna…
Jason Russell has known about Wayfinder his whole life, beginning when the organization was called Foundation for the Junior Blind. “My grandparents were founding members of the Guiders, a fundraising arm of Junior Blind,” Jason recalls. “My grandparents, uncles, aunts and all of their friends were involved throughout my childhood. My mother was a volunteer in…
Elizabeth was in Nebraska for work when she got the call. “We have a baby in the hospital,” said Monica, a Wayfinder social worker. “Can you pick her up tonight?” This was the moment Elizabeth and her husband, Bryan, had longed for. They were going to become parents. After struggling with fertility, they decided to…
Stacey Montoya had just started her new job as a teacher at Wayfinder’s Special Education School when COVID-19 forced the school to transition rapidly to online education. “A lot of us were in such denial,” Stacey remembers. “We thought that the pandemic wasn’t going to be very long.” “All teachers were flying by the seat…
Mayra and Pedro’s twin babies, José and María, were born prematurely at only 27 weeks. In their birth country, the twins received medical treatment that left them blind. Mayra and Pedro wanted so much for their children. But without vision, how could the twins become independent? “I did not have any idea what I was…
The four children had been through an unimaginable trauma. They arrived at Wayfinder’s Cottage late at night, after their stepmother committed a violent crime in the home. The older children were disoriented and fearful. The 1-year- old baby, Anna, cried incessantly. In The Cottage, they found a welcoming, safe haven. The oldest, 14-year-old Tisha, was…
