Freddie Mac Foundation and Washington Nationals Team Up to Help Region's 6,000 Foster Children

Freddie Mac Foundation and Washington Nationals Team Up to Help Region's 6,000 Foster Children

Partnership Recruits Adoptive Families, Raises Awareness at Home Games

WASHINGTON, May 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Eating hot dogs and cheering for the home team is a pastime shared by many families, but for more than 6,000 foster children in this region special outings like these with a family of their own are only a dream. Today, the Freddie Mac Foundation and the Washington Nationals will be teaming up to help remedy that. Marking May as National Foster Care Month, the Foundation and Nationals will announce a new partnership to help recruit adoptive families for more of our region's foster children as well as raise awareness of their plight.

Every Wednesday home game will be "Freddie Mac Foundation's Wednesday's Child Game," when fans will have a chance to learn more about the plight of foster kids and find out what they can do to make a difference in a foster child's life.

"This partnership between the Freddie Mac Foundation and the Washington Nationals will help give hope to children who have been waiting a long time for a family," says Mayor Anthony A. Williams. "We are grateful for the gift of this initiative to our community and to the foster children of this city and region. On behalf of the residents of DC, I thank the Freddie Mac Foundation and the Washington Nationals for their commitment to creating brighter futures for our children."

"The Freddie Mac Foundation is devoted to making a difference in the lives of foster children, and we are thrilled to be teaming up with the Washington Nationals to continue this work," says Maxine B. Baker, president and CEO of the Foundation.

Washington Nationals Team President Tony Tavares adds, "Being aligned with Freddie Mac provides us with a partner that allows us to expand upon our mission to improve the quality of life in our local communities."

Wednesday's Child Games expand on the Foundation's NBC4 television program "Wednesday's Child," which for nearly 15 years has profiled children in need of adoption with the aim of finding them adoptive families. The program airs weekly in Washington, DC as well as Los Angeles, Philadelphia, New York and Atlanta, and has successfully helped to find more than 1,000 children permanent homes. In DC, the program is a partnership between the Foundation, NBC4 and the Council of Governments. It airs on NBC4 during the news on Wednesdays at 5 pm, Thursdays at 10 am and Sundays at 9 am, and is hosted by Barbara Harrison.

Children who have been featured on the "Wednesday's Child" program, as well as other children in need of adoption, will be guests at home games and get to meet the players, hand in the scorecard and interact with Screech the mascot. In this way, the partnership will offer foster children a day of fun while reminding our community about the children's need for a permanent, loving home. In addition, fans will have a number of opportunities through in-stadium messaging and radio promotions to learn about the issue of foster care and how they can get involved.

"This new initiative allows the community to rally around our children," says Baker. "And it gives the children an opportunity to be part of something that's fun and exciting, and possibly, something life-changing if it helps them find a family to call their own."

This partnership builds on numerous other Foundation efforts to improve the lives of foster children in the nation's capital and across the country. Through grants to nonprofits that support foster children and their families, as well as sponsorship of public awareness efforts such as National Adoption Day and the Heart Gallery, the Foundation has invested millions of dollars to improve the lives of children in the foster care system.

Created by Freddie Mac in 1991, the Freddie Mac Foundation is dedicated to creating hope and opportunity for children and their families. As one of the largest corporate funders in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, Freddie Mac and the Freddie Mac Foundation have invested $280 million in organizations serving the community.

Source: Freddie Mac Foundation

CONTACT: Patricia Fuentes, +1-703-903-3504, or Shawn Flaherty,
+1-703-903-4384, both of Freddie Mac Foundation

Web site: http://www.freddiemac.com/

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