A woman has been dubbed an inspiration after fostering over 600 kids while working two jobs and raising children of her own.
75-year-old Linda Herring has devoted her life to improving the lives of children whereas she fostered more than six hundred of them over a period of 50 years.
As the Iowa-based woman revealed, she had been working as a night custodian and running a home daycare while taking care of kids together with husband Bob.
Recently, the kind lady has been awarded a ‘Resolution of Appreciation’ signed by the Johnson County Board of Supervisors in which they recognized her for putting “others’ needs before her own.”
According to the appreciation, Linda has always been known as a kind soul who never turned away a child in need despite their situation.
“Linda’s philosophy if fostering was, ‘If no one else can love them or take care of them, I will,’” the letter reads.
Throughout the years, the woman has taken care of hundreds of children of which many were kids with special needs or those who came in with zero basic necessities.
“My best friend was doing foster care for teenage girls and I thought, ‘Well, that would be nice to do the same,’ but I wanted little kids,” the 75-year-old said in an interview with CNN.
“So, I talked to the Department of Human Services and agreed to take kids with medical needs.”
On top of that, Linda and Bob have also raised eight children of their own, of which three were foster kids.
“I’m forever grateful for the life I was given,” one of the couple’s kids, 39-year-old Anthony Herring, told CNN. “She and Dad have both taught me that family isn’t determined by blood, it’s who you have in your life to love.”
“It’s hard to say in words her impact. She was always available and ready for a child in need. These kids were usually taken from a traumatic situation and she’d take them in, provide a warm bed, clean clothes, warm meals, and love,” he added.
“She also worked hard to keep families together. Keeping siblings together. Helping biological parents make the changes needed to be able to keep their children.”
Now that it’s time for Linda to get some well-deserved rest, four of her children have already followed her steps by fostering kids as well.
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Replaced!