“I want everyone to know they are truly loved!”
After living with four different foster families in one year, Adriana Hansen felt forgotten and unloved. But when she was finally adopted, her mom found a special way to heal her heart, and now Adriana shares the magic with other kids in need of love!
As Jane Hansen tucked her 6-year-old adopted daughter into bed, Adriana snuggled under the covers, eager to hear one of her mom’s made-up bedtime stories.
“This one’s about a stuffed pony that magically comes to life,” Jane began, knowing the very thought of horses made her little girl smile…and more than anything, the Coconut Creek, Florida, mom wanted to make Adriana smile.
When Jane and her husband, Mark, had opened their hearts and home to Adriana, the 5-year-old had been in foster care for less than a year and was already in her fourth home.
When they’d told her she was moving in with them forever, Adriana had been overwhelmed with joy. She couldn’t believe
Jane
she’d finally have a mom and dad. Her own room. Her own toys. And that summer, when Jane and Mark had treated her to a week at horse camp, she’d come home over-the-moon.
Soon, Adriana’s room was filled with stuffed ponies. She’d cuddle them at night, saying they made her feel happy and safe. And one day, while talking to her mom, Adriana said she’d like to give stuffed ponies to other kids in foster care so they could feel happy and safe too.
So when Adriana’s adoption became final and Jane and Mark threw her a party, guests brought her plush ponies. Inspired by the menagerie, Jane wove a tale about a stuffed horse that comes to life to offer comfort to a little girl without a family. Adriana loved it and thought the story would go perfectly with the stuffed ponies.
So Jane put her tale, which Adriana titled “My Forever Friendship Pony” on paper, and after a friend worked up illustrations, Jane had copies printed. Then she and Adriana began sending the books to foster agencies to give to their kids— each inscribed with a message from Adriana that promised, You are loved, and a stuffed pony to cuddle.
“The kids adore them,” caseworkers told a thrilled Adriana.
Today, Adriana has donated more than 400 books and ponies. And the now 12-yearold has even started a “Healing Kids’ Hearts in Foster Care” Gofundme campaign to send kids to horse riding therapy. She’s already raised enough to enroll 16 kids in a program.
“When I was in foster care, I was lonely, angry and scared, and I just wanted someone to hug,” Adriana explains. “I want to give other kids something to hug, a special friend they can love. And, most of all, I want them to know that someone loves them too.”