Lynne Skyrme was raised to care Growing up in a family that fostered children taught Lynne the value of caring for others Lynne joined the Wayfinder Family Services’ Community Council one year ago. Her family history of fostering children and all that Wayfinder does within the community inspired her to get involved. She loves working…
Annie Narayan joined Wayfinder’s Community Council in January 2024, but her involvement with the organization began more than five years earlier when she and her husband, Shawn, decided to become foster parents. “We looked at different agencies, and we felt like Wayfinder was the best fit,” she says. “We felt we would get the most…
“Love. That’s all Alan wanted,” says Marie, who decided to adopt Alan when he was bedridden in a total-care medical facility. Then, medical professionals told Marie that Alan, age 6, had profound disabilities and cerebral palsy. He would never be able to talk or walk. He harmed himself by hitting his head. What Marie saw…
Rebeca and her husband, Lee, fostered and adopted two children. These are her tips for current and prospective foster or adoptive parents. You can read their full story here. 1. If you are fostering or adopting siblings, see them as individuals instead of as a set. Get to know what each of them needs. 2….
“My aunts would be extremely thrilled to know I’m involved with Wayfinder,” says Suzi Bertino, member of the Wayfinder Community Council. Suzi’s family created a legacy of assisting foster children. “I grew up with many aunts and uncles, and many of them had foster kids,” says Suzi. “Over 40 years of fostering, one aunt took…
“My experiences pre-and post-adoption have, without a doubt, led to my career as a social worker today,” says Nick, a Wayfinder family finding social worker. When he was 2 years old, his biological parents left their apartment and never returned, abandoning him and his five older siblings. Nick entered foster care. When he was 3…
Jordan, age 13, and Danielle, age 14, ride the school bus together to Wayfinder’s Special Education School. The school enrolls children ages 5 to 22 who have profound special needs. Jordan is a happy, cheerful teenager with autism spectrum disorder, an intellectual disability, and difficulty speaking. Danielle, who delights school staff and students with her…
Since 2011, Zuber Memon has combined his professional interests with philanthropic causes. “I have always looked for something to do beyond my work in scaling social impact technologies,” says Zuber. In 2022, knowing he was going to spend time in Los Angeles while working for a microfinance company in Santa Monica, San Francisco–based Zuber was…
A few weeks after becoming certified as foster parents through Wayfinder, Rebeca and Lee received a call about sisters Tatiana and Tessa,* ages 8 and 5. A judge had decided that reunification with their birth parents was no longer an option. The girls needed a permanent home, but they were living with a foster family…
“School today?” 13-year-old Jordan hopefully asked his mother, Jerilynn, every summer day. Jordan was very eager to start eighth grade in Wayfinder’s Special Education School. He loves everything about the school—riding the bus, his teachers, arts and crafts—and especially learning. Staff at our Special Education School were happy to welcome back Jordan and all their…