Obeying with Action Where You Are (w/Mary Perdue) Ep. 289
The Forgotten Podcast
The Forgotten Initiative
4.9 • 532 Ratings
🗓️ 2 March 2026
⏱️ 34 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On this episode of The Forgotten Podcast, host Jami Kaeb welcomes Mary Perdue—wife of former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue—to share her journey into foster care and her years as the First Lady of Georgia (2003–2011).
Mary shares how fostering newborns awaiting adoption in the late 1990s opened her eyes to the broader foster care system and inspired her to make foster care her primary initiative while in office. She describes the cultural stigma and lack of awareness surrounding the system, her focus on educating communities that there are many ways to help beyond becoming a foster parent, and efforts like Champions for Children that engage businesses, civic groups, and churches.
Additionally, Mary discusses her work in creating Georgia’s Children’s Cabinet to coordinate state agencies serving children. She reflects on lessons of obedience and calling while urging the church to take responsibility for supporting foster children, families, and caseworkers alike.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Sharing the stories of the foster care community. |
| 0:02.5 | This is The Forgotten Podcast. |
| 0:06.1 | There was a very negative aura around fostering the whole area was almost something that you didn't want to talk about. |
| 0:18.4 | So the main thing that I wanted to do was to raise awareness about the needs, |
| 0:25.1 | to let people know that there are things you can do. You don't have to just be a foster parent. |
| 0:32.4 | There are so many other ways that you can help. |
| 0:39.1 | Hey, it's Jamie Cabe. |
| 0:40.9 | Welcome back to the Forgotten podcast, where we are highlighting the stories of the people |
| 0:45.5 | of foster care. |
| 0:47.1 | With every episode, our goal is to help you better understand the foster care community. |
| 0:52.3 | We want to bring you hope and encouragement in your journey |
| 0:55.5 | and help you support the agency workers, foster parents, vulnerable adults, and children in |
| 1:01.5 | foster care right where you live. If you want to learn more about TFI, catch up on past |
| 1:07.4 | episodes, read engaging articles or partner with us on mission with a gift of any amount, head over to the forgotteninitiative.org. |
| 1:17.8 | We are in this together. |
| 1:20.2 | Thank you for listening and engaging with us. |
| 1:22.9 | We love having you as part of our family. |
| 1:26.3 | Okay, it is time. |
| 1:28.4 | Let's do this. |
| 1:35.5 | Mary Purdue is married to Sunny. |
| 1:38.5 | She's been married to Sunny for 53 years. |
| 1:41.4 | I feel like we could just stop right there with your bio, Mary. |
... |
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