Family and belonging mean a lot to Sally Wynn. That’s what brought her to Foster Love – an organization that provides activities for foster children hosted by Brigham Young University. As a volunteer, she found herself connecting with the kids more deeply than she expected.

“I realized I could help children in ways I hadn’t even thought of,” Sally shared. “Foster Love gives kids a place to meet other kids in their same situation. And to interact with college students on a university campus so they can get inspired to set future goals for themselves.”

At the time, Foster Love was new, and Sally was one of the few consistent volunteers. She was also extremely passionate – so much so that when the program had to pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sally was asked to be executive director and plan the organization’s future.

Thankfully, Sally and her husband’s experience as Independent Business Owners helped her manage the responsibility. “I designed the programs myself,” Sally explained. “When I brought program directors in to run them, I had to learn how to collaborate and let some of my vision go so other people could take ownership.”

Her Amway community was filled with inspiring role models she could turn to. “I saw how our upline leader and everyone in the business was focused on helping other people,” she said. “I took that mindset and applied it in Foster Love. I found that if I gave program directors more freedom, they did what they thought was best and it strengthened the program. I changed from having a leader mindset to having a servant leader mindset.”

When Foster Love started up again, new families joined, and others came back. Sally was busy giving everyone the best experience possible. “Each week despite the stress of my role and the anxiety of coordinating program directors, volunteers, rooms, activities and snacks, I saw it as all worth it when with genuine love and excitement, the children would run back to their parents and show them what they made or talk about their new friends,” she said.

The children of one of the returning families even remembered Sally from her time as a volunteer. “I definitely didn’t expect that because of how young they were, and how long Foster Love was paused,” Sally said. “The hour and a half that we spent together a week was as impactful for them as it was for me. It was so rewarding.”

With the help of her Founders Memorial Scholarship, Sally plans to pursue her master’s degree and become a high school counselor. She and her husband also want to have children of their own and become foster parents. “Service is a big part of everything I want to do,” she said. “As a high school counselor, you’re serving kids as they figure out their lives. As a foster parent, you’re serving kids who need extra support. And as a parent in general, you’re serving kids and helping them grow.”

IBO Founding Family

FRED + BERNICE HANSEN

We are filled with gratitude for a business that affords us the opportunity to invest in the next generation of students, leaders, entrepreneurs and visionaries. We look to the future with hope as we cheer the hard work and dedication of our scholarship recipients.

– Family of Fred and Bernice Hansen