Former news anchor priming for new space for foster children
Kids to Love founder Lee Marshall in the foundation’s brand-new facility, which began its move at the end of February. (Record Photo/Nick Sellers)
By Nick Sellers | Staff Writer
HUNTSVILLE – After more than a decade juggling a career in broadcast news and running a foundation dedicated to bettering the lives of foster children around the area, Lee Marshall has recently ended her career with WHNT 19 and become full-time with her foundation, Kids to Love.
“I began to realize that something would suffer,” Marshall of her competing interests. “Kids to Love has grown a lot and it’s taken a lot of time.”
A former foster child herself, Marshall, a Tennessee native, started Kids to Love 11 years ago. In March, the non-profit foundation took one of its biggest steps yet by cutting the ribbon on its 13,000-square-foot facility that straddles the border between Madison and Huntsville on Castle Drive off Slaughter Road.
The primary focus of the foundation’s new center is to help area foster children meet life expectations and gain technical skills for the real world after they age out. In Alabama, foster children may legally be dependents until the age of 21.
“Most [non-foster] kids have a net,” Marshall said. “They can call their parents if something comes up. These kids don’t have a net.”
The facility will host various seminars for foster parents, as well, such as sessions aiding parents in obtaining and keeping pertinent certifications.
Different sections of the facility will serve different needs, however. One room will be dedicated to teaching foster teens technical skills to use in the workforce. A sizable portion of the building is, for now, a warehouse, which houses supplies for large campaigns like the foundation’s back-to-school drive.
Kids to Love meets the needs of the foster children by donations from various entities.
“We have a great mix of companies and other individuals funding us,” Marshall said.
The organization recently received a $100,000 donation from The Alpha Foundation. The new facility itself was donated by Louis and Patty Breland.
“It’s fantastic that people see the value in investing in these children” Marshall said.
Since its inception in 2004, Kids to Love has impacted more than 175,000 foster children and sees that number rising almost exponentially with the new facility.
“It’s a pretty massive vision,” Marshall said.
