Linda Herring Archives

A 75-year-old Iowa woman has raised 600 foster kids, regardless of age or medical condition, in the last 50 years.

Foster

Foster homes are usually filled with kids who came from abusive or neglectful situations. Taking care of these kids requires more patience, understanding, acceptance, and love. But for one foster mom, she has taken on the challenge and cared of hundreds of kids.

Linda Herring

Linda Herring, 75, just recently retired from fostering children. The Johnson County local, gave 50 years to fulfill her personal mission to give foster kids a second chance in life. Aside from being a foster parent, she also runs a daycare and performs custodial duties to a local high school at night.

Linda has treated every kid that she has fostered as if they were her own children. She just loves them as much as she can. For her, it has been an honor to take care of kids that others don’t want or care about. Some of Linda’s foster children required special care due to their physical or mental difficulties, difficulties caused by their previous situations.

Love for children

She and her husband Bob, have five biological children and three adoptive children who were formerly in the system. One of them was Anthony, he was in foster care of the Herring family when he was just three months old. When he turned 3-years-old, Linda legally adopted him.

“I appreciate being adopted even more today as a parent than when I was a child,” Anthony said. “She and dad taught me that family isn’t determined by blood, it’s who you have in your life to love.”

Two of Linda’s foster kids who have a serious medical condition are now thriving, thanks to the love and care of the Herring couple. Upon Linda’s retirement, she was honored for the 50 years that she selflessly loved 600 children.

Reference: Spotlight