KTTV, the Fox O&O in Los Angeles, is being recognized for its 25-year commitment to helping kids in foster care find loving families. “I am stopped all the time by people who say I love Wednesday’s Child,” said Christine Devine, KTTV’s reporter and anchor. “I think it’s because it shows hope and caring and a segment of society that can be overlooked, that somebody is out there trying to fight for a better L.A.”
The list of how TV stations contribute to their communities is long and varied. You name, they do it.
Food drives, telethons to raise funds for victims of disasters, warm coats for cold kids who need them, back-to-school supply drives, grants for non-profits, pet adoption initiatives, campaigns to help families of fallen police men and women, campaigns to help families of sick children, campaigns to collect and give away smoke alarms — if there is a need in the community, TV stations step up to fill it.
And as important as all of these efforts are, there is one campaign being done in Los Angeles for the past 25 years that deserves special recognition.
KTTV, the Fox’s L.A. O&O, is being recognized for its 25 year commitment to helping kids in foster care find loving families.
The station’s campaign, Wednesday’s Child, headed by reporter Christine Devine, was honored by the L.A. County Board of Supervisors this week for 25 years of service.
Devine, who anchors the weekday news on KTTV at 5 and 10 p.m., has been the face of Wednesday’s Child since the beginning 25 years ago and during that time, the program has helped place 455 foster kids with families.
“Some of the kids are in their 20s now so it has been quite a journey,” said Devine.
“Wednesday’s Child is about hard to place kids, large sibling groups, older children or special needs. We understand that the babies get a lot of attention and get a lot of eyes on them. We are really looking at those kids who might get overlooked, who need a second chance, who need a little extra publicity and coverage in their cases.”
And Devine said that going on TV, telling their stories and sharing their situation, can be hard for a kid. Especially in a world where kids can be singled out and bullied for being different.
“One girl told me that the kids at school said to her after the segment, you ain’t got no mom and dad?”
Kids in foster care have to decide between staying in foster care or baring their souls on television and the internet.
The Wednesday’s Child segments air every week on KTTV and on its website.
“We are really committed, and it is hard to believe it has been 25 years,” said Devine.
In her 25 years of telling the stories of these kids, Devine said there have been funny and poignant moments, especially when she asked them what they’d do if they had a million dollars.
“The one kid said I will buy all the candy in the world. That is adorable and I am right there with you kid. It was a kid being a kid, laughing, smiling with hopes and dreams. That is what I love about this segment. It shows kids being kids, kids who want to be lawyers and doctors and social workers and policemen and who love puppies.”
Devine said she got a call one day from a 12-year-old boy who had kept her business card.
“He said hey, remember me? I am getting adopted.”
With 25 years of TV exposure, Wednesday’s Child has touched the hearts of many in Los Angeles.
“I am stopped all the time by people who say: ‘I love Wednesday’s Child.’ I think it’s because it shows hope and caring and a segment of society that can be overlooked, that somebody is out there trying to fight for a better LA.”
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