The Funding Love Adoption Podcast with Mal + Kate

This week, Mal + Kate chat with birth mom Muthoni Gaciku as she shares her story of adoption and the experience of parenting after placing her firstborn daughter with an adoptive family in 2016. Muthoni is a birth mom in an open adoption. She is passionate about advocating for ethical adoption practices, inclusive post-placement care for birth parents, and rigorous training for prospective adoptiv...

This week, Mal + Kate chat with adult adoptee and identical twin, Julie Ryan McGue. Julie is author of Twice a Daughter: A Search for Identity, Family, and Belonging, that released in May 2021, and has since won multiple awards. She shares her story of her search for her biological family, instigated by health concerns and her desire to know her medical history. Tune in as she talks about her expe...

This week, Mal + Kate welcome guest Karla Ray as she shares her story of adoption. Karla is a broadcast journalist with more than 16 years experience producing investigations that make an impact. Born and raised in the Midwest, Karla was placed for adoption at birth and recently connected with several of her biological siblings and her biological father, who had no prior knowledge of her existence...

This week on the Funding Love Podcast, Kate shares a huge life update: she and her husband have welcomed a second baby girl into their family through adoption! Tune in as she shares pieces of the story to growing her family, while Mal asks lots of questions about what it is like walking through the adoption process multiple times. This episode is full of honest and real moments and we hope that yo...

Happy New Year from Mal + Kate!        On this week's episode, Mal + Kate share all about their new words for the year and what goals and visions that have set for the 2024. They also talk about what is coming up for Funding Love this year and share The Funding Love Book Club's first selection! If you would like to join The Funding Love Book Club, be sure to grab a copy of American Baby...

We hope your holiday season is merry and bright. This week's mini-episode is full of Christmas cheer as Mal + Kate share their favorite childhood Christmas memory and wish all of our Funding Love Podcast listeners and very Merry Christmas. See you next year! Connect with  your hosts! @malyourpal @katedawnduck Connect with Us! Website Instagram Facebook Support the show

This week Mal + Kate take a look back at 2023 and all of the amazing things that have happened in and around Funding Love. They discuss their favorite moments from the year, while also dreaming ahead for the future. They ALSO drop big news about the new 2024 Funding Love Podcast Series, The Funding Love Book Club! Connect with  your hosts! @malyourpal @katedawnduck Connect with Us! Website Instagr...

This week, Mal + Kate talk with friend and fellow adoptive mom, Ashley Workman, as she shares her story of adoption. Ashley is an adoptive mama to a 7 year old girl named Sunny Clementine. She is a former teacher who is now a full-time homeschool mom, and Travelmation supervisor. Ashley, her husband Jimbo, and Sunny live in the Sunshine State of Florida. Connect with Ashley! Instagram Facebook Con...

This week Mal + Kate talk with friend, and Funding Love Alumni, Jessie Mattos. Jessie is a birth mom and ethical adoption advocate and professional. She placed her daughter for adoption in 2011 and while her journey to healing started out rocky, she has since found support and self-acceptance through being in community with other birth moms and learning from all sides of the adoption community. We...

Thanksgiving is over and Christmastime is officially here! This week, Mal + Kate reminisce on memories and family traditions from Christmas Past, while sharing memories and family traditions they choose to create and carry on in their own families. They also share their secret Christmas WISH of being able to raise $40K in one day this Giving Tuesday. Give to our Giving Tuesday Campaign! Connect wi...

Happy Thanksgiving week! This week Mal and Kate welcome returning guest Ashley Mitchell. You probably know her as Big Tough Girl on Instagram. She is a birth mom and adoption reform advocate and she is back talking all about her own Podcast with co-host and fellow birth mom Kelsey Vander Vliet Ranyard Twisted Sisterhood. In this conversation, we really deep-dive in on that name, Twisted Sisterhood...

Hey men! Does your wife want to grow your family through adoption, but you have some hesitations?  Or has adoption always been something on your heart, too, but you just don't know where or how to begin? Well, this week's podcast is just for you! Mal + Kate welcome guests Matt Appleby + Tim Elrod to chat all about adoption through the eyes of a husband. Tim + Matt are both biological and...

November is National Adoption Awareness Month, a month to bring awareness to kids + teens in foster care that are in need of an adoption placement. However, over the years, NAAM has become a month to bring awareness to adoption, as a whole. This week, Mal + Kate welcome Funding Love Birth Mom Vacation Alumni, Shonda Larson, to the show as she shares her experience as an adoptee that was adopted fr...

Happy Halloween! Growing up, did you like to dress up on Halloween more often as hero or villain characters? As fun as it can be to pretend for one night to be the bad guy, in life, no one really wants to be the villain. This week, Mal + Kate bring you a SpOoKy episode on the narrative of heroes and villains within the adoption triad. Who is the hero? Who is the villain? Birth moms? Adoptive famil...

Do you ever feel like you have an unpopular opinion?? Proceed with caution: This week, Mal + Kate share with listeners their unpopular opinions on both adoption and Disney. We invite you to pour your favorite beverage, pull up a cozy seat, and listen along to this silly and sometimes serious episode. Let us know in the comments if you agree or disagree with any of their opinions; or email Mal + Ka...

This week, Mal + Kate welcome adoptive and bio mom, Laura Hernandez, as she shares about her incredible family of twelve! With seven biological children and three more that joined their family through foster care adoption, running a large household that grew even larger in a very short span of time, Laura found herself quickly over whelmed by the many to-dos of motherhood. Her solution? Mama Syste...

This week, Mal + Kate welcome returning guest, Allison Olson, to talk about her newest children's book, "Learning About My Friend's Adoption". Being both an adoptee and an adoptive parent, Allison Olson has a unique perspective on the topic of adoption. Her goal is to build confidence and self-esteem in young adoptees by changing the adoption narrative from the “lucky" chi...

This week, Mal + Kate welcome Funding Love's 2024 Birth Mom Vacation Alumni, Brittany Wigington. Along with being a birth mom , Brittany is an adoptive mom with experience as an adoption professional. In this moving episode, she shares her story and why it is so important for post-placement support to be offered and normalized within the birth mom community. She says that she is motivated to...

This week, Mal + Kate welcome returning guest, Mallory Dumond, as she gives a trip report on the  Inaugural Rewarding Responders Vacation that traveled the first week of September. Together, the three of them talk over all of the trip details and dive into how Walt Disney World is the perfect place for families from all walks of life, profession, and background to build stronger bonds, community,...

This week, Mal + Kate hit record on a casual conversation about frequently asked questions they get about adoption. Listen in as they sip some rosé and talk about how they answer questions like: How did you even begin the process, when you decided to adopt? Did you name your adoptive child? Did you always want an open adoption? Isn't sharing your child  with their birth mom hard? Tune in toda...

Our 2023 Birth Mom Vacation just wrapped up! We hosted 14 birth moms on an all-expenses-paid vacation to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. On this episode, Mal + Kate recap the vacation with Funding Love's two Birth Mom Vacation Magic Makers, Sarah Basham and Tori Brister. They share all the details from check-in and Opening Night Dinner, to the women's official Walt Disney World VI...

The secret is out and the date has been announced! Funding Love will host its second annual fundraising gala once more at the Four Seasons Resort Orlando on April 26th, 2024. It is called the Funding Love Garden Gala and in this episode, Mal + Kate reveal all the details. From the whimsical, floral decor, to the return of the silent and live auctions, full course dinner, and educational and inspir...

This week, Mal + Kate welcome returning guest, Kay Wilkoff. Kay is a foster, adoptive, and biological mom who works to promote hope and health of the foster parent community in her county as a mentor and Co-Chair of the Foster Parent Advisory Board in Monroe County, NY. Kay and her family have provided support to over 25 kids in care over the last decade and are currently a part of an open foster/...

This week, Mal + Kate chat with adoptive mom and small business owner, Janna Kelly. She shares her story of adoption and how her small business came to life during that journey. Now, as a thriving, growing business, she gives back to Funding Love by donating her products to Funding Love Welcome Baskets. Janna is the small business owner of Joy in Words Designs that grew out of the “waiting” period...

This week adoptive mom, Misti Maddron, shares her story of building her family through adoption with Mal + Kate. It's a story of grief and loss that is lined with hope and joy and faith. Misti Maddron is a Christ follower, wife, mom of five, teacher, and artist. Her family is definitely a masterpiece of the Lord; constructed through adoption and miracles. She and her husband David have journe...