It’s hard not to marvel at Linda Herring.

Just now “retiring” as a foster care parent after 50 years of service, the 75-year-old woman helped raise over 600 foster children for varying lengths of time.

She was recently honored by Johnson County, Iowa, where’s she’s lived her whole life, with a resolution of appreciation for her life-long commitment to children in need. And it was standing room only at the event.

But Johnson wasn’t a full-time, stay-at-home mom. During the day, she ran a daycare for local children out of her home and at night she worked as a custodian at the local high school to make sure the children living in her home always had what they needed.

Herring and her husband Bob also raised 8 children of their own (3 were adopted from the foster system and 2 have severe medical conditions). In addition to all that, she also volunteered as a first responder with the local fire department for almost 50 years!

Speaking with the local news, she was mellow about her life choices:

“It was a benefit to me because I love kids. I’ve always loved kids. We adopted three. We had five of our own. We always had a big family,” Herring told KCRG News.

The “Supermom” also explained to CNN that she first got involved in the foster care system because of a friend who was fostering teenagers:

“My best friend was doing foster care for teenage girls and I thought, ‘Well, that would be nice to do the same,’ but I wanted little kids. So, I talked to the Department of Human Services and agreed to take kids with medical needs.”

According to CNN “Herring was known by everyone in Johnson County for never turning away a child, no matter their age, gender, or special needs, and would regularly travel to pick up foster children who needed a home.”

In fact, she was known for taking in children with serious medical conditions (who are notoriously hard to find homes for because of the extra attention they require).

Anthony Herring, who was adopted by the couple when he was just 3 years old (after having been cared for by them as a baby) was the first to praise his mother for everything she has done for him and so many others.

“She also worked hard to keep families together. Keeping siblings together. Helping biological parents make the changes needed to be able to keep their children. She always makes sure a new child in her home was given a professional photograph that was placed on the wall in the living room. That seems like a small thing, but it helps them feel like they’re at home,” he told CNN.

No doubt she made some incredible personal sacrifices to allow children under her care to live better lives.

How did she manage to give this much of herself?

Love, she said. She simply had so much of it to give that she never turned a child away. And no matter the amount of time a child was in her care, she always cried when they left.

After playing an integral role in the lives of 600 people, it’s no surprise she had such a positive impact that many of them are now foster parents themselves. And those former foster children who now have their own kids now consider Linda Herring a “grandmother.”

Her granddaughter, Amber Herring, told CNN that the only reason she stopped taking in children a few months ago in October of 2019 was because of her health concerns.

She added in an interview with TODAY:

“It takes a special person to open their heart and home to children. It has been a lifestyle for them that not everyone can do, but their dedication to children in need has always been evident. They simply provided them love when the kids needed it most.”

Now that Herring has “retired,” she says she hopes more families will consider stepping up to open their homes to children in need.

“It’s not hard to open your heart to a kid. It seems like there’s always little kids that need someone to care for them.”

On any given day, there are nearly half a million children on any given day in the foster system in the United States alone and while it’s a big job, someone has to do it.

We certainly can’t expect the most generous among us to live up to Linda Herring’s record!

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

Source: People, CNN, KCRG News, TODAY