Reel Hope Project tells stories of kids ready for adoption

MINNEAPOLIS -- The story we are about to share will be a very special part of WCCO Sunday Morning at 7 a.m. moving forward.

We will be honoring some of the most amazing and resilient kids around, and talking about the many different layers to adoption and fostering.

First, a story about telling these kids' stories.

Lights, camera, action. These kids are in the well-deserved spotlight. Each with different talents, interests and deep perspectives. 

"Conferences, concerts, theatre productions, anywhere we can go to highlight these kids in front of a crowd, we'll do it," Reel Hope Project founder Kaycee Stanley said.

Each kid has different birth parents, with different circumstances, but one thing is the same: their parents weren't able to take care of them.

In Minnesota, there are 900 kids whose parents no longer have parental rights.

"The goal of foster care is reunification with biological parents," Stanley said. "We only make videos for kids whose parental rights are terminated and those are kids who really aren't seen in the public eye."

They are now. The kids chose to be part of the Reel Hope Project, a project created by a former youth pastor who saw a need to give these talented kids a bigger stage.

"One thing that we always say on staff is that there's nothing more powerful than a story," Stanley said. "And when you are adopting, you can see a picture of a kid and you can sometimes see a little paragraph about who they are but a video is so much more powerful."

So, five years ago, they started making reels.  

"We have made reels for 308 kids, and we have seen 146 kids so far get matched with their forever families," Stanley said. "Almost half, we are pretty excited ... To even play a small roll in a kid finding a forever family, it's just incredibly fulfilling." 

And the most personal story comes from the creator herself. She met one of her kids through the project she pioneered.

"I felt -- without ever knowing her -- just an immediate kinship with his birth mom. I just remember in my heart promising her I am gonna do a good job for you. I want to take care of him for you," Stanley said. "He's just silly and playful and funny. He is a great big brother to his little sisters. He is super compassionate, he just has a tender heart."

And even though every story is different, these short films are allowing some of these young stars to move to the next act.

If this story is stirring your heart, you can get information on getting licensed by clicking here.