In 1984, a group of golfing buddies and their wives wanted to have a golf tournament to raise money for charity. They had seen the Wednesday's Child segment on Channel 8, so they called Child Protective Services (CPS) to see if help was needed. It was then that they discovered that there were thousands of foster children with special wants and needs that no one was filling.

From this defined need, the idea of an organization to provide assistance to foster children was born. The founders chose the name Wednesday's Child from the television program to describe who they were helping and added Benefit Corporation to describe how they helped— benefiting children in foster care. (We are not part of WFAA's Wednesday's Child program. Their worthy goal is to find adoptive homes for foster children. Wednesday's Child Benefit Corporation provides for all the children's unmet needs while they are in foster care.)

Wednesday's Child Benefit Corporation began as a single fund-raising event with net proceeds of approximately $18,000. Over the years, it has grown to provide a much more substantial safety net of services for children in the protective custody of the State when other resources simply are not available. In the last five years alone, we have filled more than 20,900 requests and distributed more than $1.75 million in assistance.

From the beginning, Wednesday's Child Benefit Corporation has aimed to make a significant impact on our local community by bringing hope and healing to these deserving children's lives. We have always been and continue to be the only organization that provides funds to fulfill the specific needs of North Texas foster children when no one else can or will so they are able to have as normal a childhood as possible. We appreciate our rich history which is filled with special children and we look forward to assisting this underserved population for as long as there is a need.