Caterer Lamont Thomas of Buffalo, New York was thirty years old in the year 2000, and recently divorced.
He found out that some good friends who were going through some very hard times had their son taken from them.
"In the beginning, I was helping out some friends. They had lost their child to the system. I went on and got certified and became a foster parent."
He asked his two biological children, Anthony and LaMonica, if they would mind sharing with other kids that desperately needed a home and a family.
They both readily said yes.
So he took in young Michael Thomas, "He knew my biological parents. He was my third foster home and it ended up being my forever home."
Since then, Lamont has fostered 33 children.
And permanently adopted, at that time, five of those he fostered.
The first was in 2007, when he adopted twins Germayne and Tremayne, then there was Germaine, and then Janie, and then he adopted the boy that started the ball rolling, Michael, who now works as a critical care nurse.
"I don't believe that I would be the person that I am today without the morals that he instilled in me, the extended family that I have now.
Lamont never turned a child away. They either aged out or went back home to their own families."
Over the years, his youngsters grew into adults, and for the first time, he was alone.
48 years old, in a quiet house.
Then he got a call from a former foster child of his, about five siblings that were taken from him.
And that were going to be forever separated into other families.
Zendaya, age 5, Jamel, age 4, Nakia, age 3, Major, age 2 and Michaela, age 1.
"The kids ended up being taken into care, I believe it was due to neglect," Lamont shared. "They had them in four different homes, four different cities. They were separated for over a year-and-a-half."
Lamont worked on finding them all, and fostering them all together, for two years.
And immediately started the process of adopting them.
"I had to help them. They deserved to be raised together. I fought for close to two and a half years just to be able to get them together, and we won.
We got it.
They bring new energy to me. They’re lovable kids, very affectionate. They deserve to be raised as siblings, and that was my fight.
I wanted to be the difference, make a difference by being a difference for these youth.”
In this world of selfishness and avarice, i wanted to celebrate with you one that is making a difference.
Again and again and again.
Single father of 12, Lamont Thomas.
A very good man.