Difference Maker: Terri Wunderlich impacting children’s lives, supporting foster parents

Terri Wunderlich’s entire life changed in September 2021. She quit her job delivering auto parts, got hired at Hope For One More, moved from her one bedroom apartment to a house and had three foster children placed in her care. She says most of this occurred within the span of one week.

“So, my whole life flipped in a week. … Everything just all changed at once, and that was OK, cause it was all for the better,” Wunderlich said.

During this time, Wunderlich was caring for five foster children as a single parent and getting used to her new job. She was driving a Chevy Cruze and thought, “How am I going to put five kids in this car? We can’t go anywhere,” so she bought a larger vehicle.

Wunderlich says one of the biggest lessons she’s learned as a foster parent is “you have to be super flexible.”

She is currently the direct services specialist for FosterAdopt Connect in Cape Girardeau after Hope For One More and FosterAdopt Connect merged in 2022. FosterAdopt Connect provides supportive services to youth in foster or adoptive care, their caregivers and parents.

During her day-to-day duties, Wunderlich will organize donations, keep track of data, coordinate with volunteers, set up fundraisers, reach out to sponsors and interact with those who come into Sammy's Window, FosterAdopt Connect's store.

“I enjoy it, cause I get to see a majority of the kids that are in care. … They bring kids down [to FosterAdopt Connect] to get stuff, and you get to make their day,” Wunderlich said. “My goal is to always do whatever it takes to make kids thrive.”

Wunderlich helps organize FosterAdopt Connect’s Birthday Bash program, which allows children to pick out a new toy during their birthday month and pick up a bag filled with cake making supplies and decorations. She also helps with their Give Joy Christmas program, which allows people in the community to sponsor a foster child for Christmas, and their Easter program in which donated Easter eggs are delivered to foster parents’ homes by volunteers.

“We’re here to help people who have taken on kids. … They’re willing to take these kids into their homes on a fixed income,” Wunderlich said. “It’s amazing to be able to keep those kids in a home and provide for them. I really love my job.”

Wunderlich is excited about the Back to School Bash she has helped organize for this August at Capaha Park in Cape Girardeau. At the party, foster children will receive backpacks with new clothes and school supplies provided by sponsors. Local barbers will be there to give free haircuts. Foster children will be able to connect and play together at the park. Wunderlich said she wanted to go “all out” for this event, because she felt like these children needed a party.

Outside of her job, Wunderlich has spoken at the Out of the Darkness Walk for suicide prevention in Cape Girardeau. She is also currently a Girl Scouts leader for the Scott City troop.

At the time of her interview with B Magazine, Wunderlich had four foster children in her care. She has been a foster parent for a little over two and a half years. Sometimes she will receive emergency placements, where a child is only in her care for a few days.

One particular teenage boy was placed in her care for only five days, but he still keeps in contact with Wunderlich years later. When he moved back to Cape Girardeau, he asked Wunderlich for help with finding a place, and recently wished her a “Happy Mother’s Day” on Snapchat.

She said this is an example of how “it could just be a few days,” but you never know “how much you’re going to impact someone’s life.”

“For him to know he can count on me based on those five days, it’s amazing,” Wunderlich said. “If they go back home, and I’m heartbroken and I’m crushed, it’s worth it ‘cause I got to impact their life for a really short time. I got to do something for them.”