"I'm now able to apply to college, and I know that I have a competitive résumé," said Hennig, who participated in the program last year. "I know how to be just as equipped as every other teenager my age. And I've gotten all of the same skills that parents would pass down to their children."

Gletow says this is what keeps her going.

"Our states take children out of their homes and say, 'We can do a better job raising you,' and then they don't," she said. "And we need to all step up as a society and do that.

"It's up to every individual person to say all of our children deserve better. Not just the ones that are born into good circumstances. ... That's what I'm going to do with my life. I want my life to be a life of purpose."

Want to get involved? Check out the One Simple Wish website at www.onesimplewish.org and see how to help.