Lee Marshall, WHNT News 19 anchor and founder of the Kids to Love Foundation, started the foundation with the mission to meet the immediate needs for foster children while they wait for “forever families”.

Marshall knows exactly what it means to have a forever family, and feels thankful to not have any memories of foster care because she was so young when she was adopted.

“I was placed with my parents at six weeks old, and they adopted me when I was two. I know the difference a family makes, everyone deserves one,” Marshall said.

Marshall hopes the program has helped the quality of life for children in foster care.

“If we can reach just one child, our efforts will be a success. Every scholarship we award, every Christmas wish list we fill, every backpack we pack, every one of these kids hold a piece of my heart,” Marshall said.

Kids to Love provides Christmas, school supplies, college scholarships, bibles, class rings, prom dresses, musical instruments and summer camp to kids in their care. Kids to love also purchased a head stone for a foster child whose grave would otherwise have been left unmarked. Marshall emphasizes that running a nonprofit is a lot of work and none of it would be possible without help.

“While we are blessed to have a great team and thousands of volunteers, like any business, it ultimately rests on your shoulders. I’m thankful for business leaders in our community that have been willing to help us grow along the way through support and guidance,” Marshall said.

Kids to Love has made a direct impact on the lives of more than 170,000 kids in foster care and counting. While her goal was to better the children’s lives, Kids to Love has in turn bettered hers.

“Every child I have the opportunity to meet and help touches me probably more than it touches them. These great kids constantly make me realize what really matters in life… family,” Marshall said.

Christmas is the next big event for Kids to Love, which is looking to fill wish lists of more than 1,000 local foster kids. Kids to Love is in need of helping hands. Visit www.kidstolove.org to find out ways to help.