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Danielle Gletow of Trenton, New Jersey, knew when she married her husband Joe in 2005 that she was interested in adoption and fostering. For her, it was a pull from deep within.
What she didn't know is that she would eventually change the lives of hundreds of thousands of children who are or who have been part of the foster care system.
Today, she calls herself a "proud mom to 400,000 kids."
Gletow became certified to foster children in 2006. She also hoped to adopt her own child eventually in her home state of New Jersey, she said in a recent phone interview with Fox News Digital.
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Her first foster placement, a boy, came to her house with "next to nothing."
Other children soon followed.
A baby in foster care is the recipient of a One Simple Wish donation (his field is shielded for privacy reasons). (One Simple Wish)
Because she and her husband had good jobs and "lots of resources," they were able to provide for their foster children. They quickly came to see that this was the exception, however — not the rule.
"We soon learned as our foster care journey went on that there were a lot of kids, especially older teens and those who resided in group homes, who were not getting nearly the same degree of support or services that we were providing in our home for the kids we were fostering," she said.
In September 2007, a newborn named Mia came to the couple's home. Two weeks later, Danielle and Joe Gletow learned that were expecting a baby.
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The idea of having two very young children very close together seemed daunting, so the Gletows opted against receiving any additional foster placements at that time.
But that wasn't the end of Danielle Gletow's involvement with helping foster kids. The couple later adopted Mia.
Danielle Gletow of New Jersey (in dress, center, holding Mia) on the day her eldest daughter's adoption was finalized. (One Simple Wish)
While on maternity leave in 2008 following the birth of daughter Lily, Gletow launched One Simple Wish.
Initially, the organization was small, based only in New Jersey; it had about 12 agency partners.
Fast-forward to today — and One Simple Wish serves about 25,000-30,000 people each year in all 50 states. It works with 2,000 agency partners.
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With One Simple Wish, Gletow provides the "extras" that help make a traumatic time in a child's life a little easier.
Visitors can browse through specific wishes of children in foster care, make a donation and support the "Life After Fund."
"The goal was to establish an online platform that would share the stories of individual children who were either in the foster care system or were being overseen by our child welfare system," she explained.
On the organization's website, Onesimplewish.com, visitors can browse through specific wishes of children in foster care, make a donation and support the "Life After Fund" — which helps young people who have "aged out" of foster care.
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Or, visitors can choose to support an education fund, which sponsors college scholarships for kids who have been in foster care.
One Simple Wish helps children in a way that social service agencies cannot, Gletow said.
A One Simple Wish recipient (his face is covered for privacy) enjoys a brand new tricycle. (One Simple Wish)
"[Social service agencies] didn't have the means to provide them with some of those fun extras like camp and birthday parties, or a cool new pair of shoes, or the ability to go to a really fun art class, or participate in school sports or go to prom," she said.
By listing the wishes on a website, she aimed to "encourage people to make those things happen" with the additional bonus of raising awareness about foster care and providing tangible comfort to children.
"It means a lot that a stranger granted a wish my sister and I needed."
"We just felt like there was more that we needed to educate people about and raise awareness," said Gletow.
"Especially in communities like ours."
Over 400 wishes still waiting to be granted
Gletow describes her family as a "generic, middle-class, suburban family."
She said that discussions about foster care simply "wasn't a conversation that a lot of our friends and family had ever had before."
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Presently, there are more than 400 wishes waiting to be granted on One Simple Wish's website.
A person can find a wish to grant by filtering by state, age or gender of the requestor. Wishes range in cost from $10 to $500, Gletow said.
One Simple Wish founder Danielle Gletow is shown on the right and with her family on left; she's shown with husband Joe and with daughters Mia and Lily. The girls are 15 and 14 today. (One Simple Wish)
For example, one wish on the site is "An art set for Selena to practice drawing," which costs $60.
The wish states that "Selena loves quiet time, where she can relax and draw freehand pictures," and that Selena, a nine-year-old from Texas, "enjoys sitting outside and drawing real-life nature scenes."
"When she was brought into care she was not able to bring her art supplies. She wants a new set to get started on her art again," the wish reads.
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Selena is described as a "smart, studious, polite and super helpful" child who enjoys watching anime cartoons, cooking and playing outside.
She is "very protective" of her little sister.
One Simple Wish is not limited to children who are currently in foster care, said Gletow.
Anyone, at any age, who has ever been involved with child welfare services is eligible to submit a wish — and wishes are submitted through community partners, too.
A boy opens his new bike, courtesy of a One Simple Wish donor. (One Simple Wish)
All wishes are vetted before they are posted.
While the wishes may seem simple, for children in foster care the wishes can be life-changing.
Anastasia, 22 (whose last name is omitted for privacy), entered the foster care system along with her elder sister when she was 12 years old, she told Fox News Digital in a recent interview.
Originally from Ohio, the two girls were adopted by a couple from Florida whom they met on the "Ultimate Wish Tour," a nationwide six-week journey to secure loving homes for up to 100 foster children — and encourage greater awareness and support for local foster children.
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Anastasia's caseworker was contacted by One Simple Wish to see if they would be interested in joining the tour.
"We were chosen to be a part of the tour because we were looking for a family," Anastasia said.
"Sometimes, small things lead to big things. Our now-adoptive parents found us through the tour, and 30 additional kids found their forever family through the event."
A thank-you note is shown here from a child named Emma, who received a Chromebook from a One Simple Wish donor. (One Simple Wish)
When Anastasia and her sister first entered the foster system, she was fearful that the two girls would be separated, she said.
The adoption process took about two years, she also said, but she "always knew they were going to be our final home and family."
Anastasia's adoptive parents flew from Florida to Ohio to visit the sisters. The adoption process began when Anastasia was turning 15 and her sister was almost 20.
"We have a new family who loves us and exemplifies what real love is."
"After six months of travel between Ohio and Florida, our adoption was finalized and we were able to move full-time to Florida" — where they live today, she said.
Prior to her adoption, Anastasia and her sister had several wishes granted by One Simple Wish.
Anastasia received a karaoke machine and an Easy Bake Oven; her sister, who is on the autism spectrum, asked for and received a therapy ball.
"At the time, I had no idea it was a stranger who granted our wishes," Anastasia said.
"After the fact, it means a lot that a stranger granted a wish my sister and I needed," she said.
A One Simple Wish recipient wrote this thank you note — and celebrated the start of driver's education classes. ( One Simple Wish)
"When in foster care, you don’t have much," she continued.
"Getting a wish like the ones [we] had helped us significantly as it gave us something to do, whether essentials or things we wanted. It warms my heart knowing that it was from a stranger who doesn’t even know my sister and I personally."
As adults, Anastasia and her sister have submitted wishes for a laptop and gift cards, she said.
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Anastasia wants people to know that while her time in foster care was challenging, her life has improved leaps and bounds since then.
"I want people to know that it gets better after foster care. I was nervous about how my life would be, with everything that happened to my sister and I, but it was OK to be nervous," she said.
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"We have a new family who loves us and exemplifies what real love is," she added.
"It’s a warm feeling to be adopted. The fact that a family even wanted us meant a lot."
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