This Black History Month, NCCF is proud to honor two pillars of our community: Mark and Donna Leggett. For over 23 years, the Leggetts have opened their home and their hearts to youth in need, showing us that when we have been blessed, the greatest joy is sharing those blessings with others.

A Tale of Two Paths

Both Mark and Donna are D.C. area natives, but they grew up with very different experiences. Donna was raised in a stable, two-parent household in the city. Mark, however, was placed into foster care as an infant.

Mark shared that he didn’t even realize he was a foster child until his teenage years because the home was so full of love and stability. That experience stayed with him, planting a seed that would eventually grow into a lifelong mission to provide that same safety for others.

Decades of Giving Back

The Leggetts officially began their journey as foster parents in 2003, driven by a mutual desire to “pay it forward.” Reflecting on their stability at the time, Mark realized they had a unique opportunity to change a life. “We’re doing well, in a single-family house, nice neighborhood, and everything,” Mark explains. “And I thought about my experiences where I might have been without my foster mother… and I just felt like we had more than enough to share. We came to the conclusion that we kind of owed it to help somebody.”

Over the past 23 years, they have welcomed between 15 and 20 children into their family, focusing their heart and energy specifically on fostering young boys. Their commitment frequently extends beyond temporary care; they even took legal guardianship of two young men to ensure they would have a permanent family to lean on.

The Secret to Fostering: Empathy and Resilience

When discussing the qualities of successful foster parenting, Mark and Donna emphasize the necessity of radical empathy. They recognize that the boys entering their home often carry the heavy weight of past trauma, which can manifest in challenging ways.

Their advice to aspiring parents is to maintain a calm perspective and avoid taking a child’s behavior personally. “You can’t take things personally,” Donna explains. By looking past outward defiance to see the underlying hurt, they have successfully built bridges of trust with youth who had previously lost faith in adults. Furthermore, they credit the robust training and consistent advocacy provided by NCCF as the essential support system that has allowed them to remain resilient.

The Leggett North Star: Treating Others Like Family

Their guiding principle remains a personal version of the Golden Rule: to treat others as you would want to be treated. Mark explains his motivation through the lens of his own family: “I tell people ‘if anything ever happened to us and my son had to go into foster care, I would want my son to be treated the same way I treat the children that enter my home.’ That’s my model for life.”

This deep-seated sense of responsibility to protect and provide for “the village” is a direct reflection of the Leggetts’ heritage. This Black History Month, the Leggetts remind us that while our history is built on the strength of our ancestors, our future is built by those willing to provide a roadmap for the next generation. As Donna reflects, “it’s about passing it along… and making it better for the next generation.” Through 23 years of dedicated service, Mark and Donna are writing a legacy of hope, healing, and the true meaning of family.