Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Supporting Wendy’s Franchisee Tour De Adoption One Text at a Time

Aug 18, 2016 11:00 AM ET

Dave Thomas once said, “There’s no one to stop you but yourself.” And with that quote in mind we salute Ed Anderson, a Wendy’s franchisee from Newport News, Virginia who recently kicked off his Tour de Adoption.

Anderson is riding his bicycle across the country to raise $1 million for the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. He started July 26 at Virginia Beach and will end on October 4 in San Diego. Along the way he’ll be stopping at Wendy’s restaurants.

The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is Wendy’s charity of choice. The Foundation’s mission is to dramatically increase the adoptions of children waiting in foster care. Through Wendy’s Wonderful Kids, the Foundation provides grants to adoption agencies that hire specially-trained adoption recruiters whose sole mission is to find permanent loving homes for the children who have been in foster care the longest.

Ed Anderson is committed to that cause as are many of his fellow Wendy’s franchise owners. In fact, BF Companies, owned by Junior Bridgeman, is the largest Wendy’s franchisee and they are supporting Ed’s Tour de Adoption with a text to pledge campaign.

Andre Bynum, BF Companies Vice President of Marketing told the Foundation, “The courage Ed is exhibiting to take on this physically and mentally demanding journey is testament to his belief in the adoption cause. Our support in providing the public relations and fundraising opportunity in his efforts is testament of our unwavering commitment to the Foundation.”

Here are the three easy steps you can take to donate to Ed’s Tour de Adoption and support the work of the Foundation:

  • Text “DTFA” to 91999.
  • Follow the link in the text message you receive back.
  • Enter your credit card number and choose the amount you want to donate.

Ed remains humble about the feat he is taking on but says he is truly grateful for the support from the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption and Wendy’s family.

 “I am only doing what Dave expected of all his Wendy's people to do ‘give back and do the right thing.’  Dave said there is no we in Wendy's! My thanks go out to JR Bridgeman and his remarkable team who have supported me from concept to the actual ride.”

CEO and President of the Foundation Rita Soronen attended Ed’s kick-off event and said the extraordinary lengths that Anderson is taking to help raise awareness about this cause is not only heartwarming, but truly unique.

“We are so grateful to our friends in the Wendy’s family for their generosity and the extra effort they put into raising awareness to our mission,” said Soronen. “The partnership between the Foundation and Wendy’s and franchisees is truly special.”

About Us:
The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is a national nonprofit public charity dedicated exclusively to finding permanent homes for the more than 130,000 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 grant making. To learn more, visit davethomasfoundation.org or call 1-800-ASK-DTFA.