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Women Of Excellence: Mary Perdue
First lady of Georgia
by Collette Parker
July 1, 2008
B
efore Mary Perdue's husband ever ran for governor, her family – which includes the
couple's four children – felt a calling to foster children. In 1998 the Perdues fostered eight
newborns pre-adoptively; some just for two nights, others for longer periods.
"On becoming First Lady I realized I had an opportunity to shed light on an issue that was
important to me and perhaps to have a lasting impact on that issue," Perdue says. "My desire was
that ... someone would not be afraid to become involved. And that people would understand that
fostering is a wonderful thing to do."
In August 2003 Perdue launched the "Our Children" campaign to raise awareness about foster
care programs and encourage families and businesses to consider the needs of Georgia's more than
15,000 children in state care. Its goals are to increase the number of available foster homes and
volunteer hours, and financial and in-kind contributions.
Perdue has succeeded in getting the attention of Atlanta's business community, as companies such as Home Depot, Wachovia and Chick-fil-A are turning their philanthropic dollars toward children in foster care.
As first lady, Perdue created a Children's Cabinet in July 2004 – a collection of representatives from all the agencies who advocate for children across the state. Until then, Georgia's children's organizations never worked cooperatively.
"The Children's Cabinet is one of the things I hope will last beyond a Perdue administration because it's important for those [agency] heads to be communicating with each other, to build those relationships."
Through the Kids First initiative, she travels through Georgia hosting activities to highlight an area of volunteerism with abused and neglected children.
Other programs have included Totes 2 Tots for foster children to have luggage for their frequent moves (rather than the typical grocery sacks of belongings); and Project Perfect Prom, an initiative with several Junior Leagues across Atlanta to provide prom dresses to girls in foster care.
"The Foster Care Support Foundation could not begin to meet the needs of children in crisis without the efforts of people like Mary Perdue and events such as Project Perfect Prom," says Rachel Ewald, founder of Foster Care Support Foundation.
Perdue's profile was heightened visibly in 2006, as Georgia's first lady became, in the words of numerous political analysts, a huge asset, after appearing in several of her husband's re-election campaign commercials.
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