FAMILY…
CREATED BY
ABOVE: Adriannia, Jared, Stevie, Wesley, Madison, Jada, Alyssa
Photo by Miss Magnolia Soul Photography
Love
NOT
STORY BY MELISSA MOXLEY
GENETICS
D
ave Thomas, the founder of Wendy’s, once said, “Every child deserves a home and love. Period.” He should know, Dave was adopted at a very young age. If it were not for those willing to love, protect, and give security to children that were not biologically theirs, the world may have missed out on extreme greatness. Imagine if there had never been a John Hancock, Steve Jobs, Nelson Mandela, Edgar Allan Poe, Babe Ruth, Leo Tolstoy, or Louis Armstrong. These great minds, athletes, musicians, and leaders may have never reached their full potential without the love, kindness, and generosity of a distant relative or, in some cases, a stranger. Family is a rich soil that nurtures and allows talents to grow. Some people wait for years to get the opportunity to adopt a child. They deal with the ups and downs of red tape and hope deferred before realizing their long-awaited dreams of holding a child in their arms. Then there are those who open their home because they are presented with a child(ren) in need. Such is the case for Stevie and Jada Martin. They had three children. The oldest, Jared, was grown and on his own. Their middle child, Wesley, had just left a few days earlier for college, and Adriana, the baby of the family, was a teenager. WAYNE MAGAZINE
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