Lamont Thomas of Buffalo, New York, has always been devoted to improving the lives of children in need. On October 17, he managed to improve the lives of not one child but five. The single father of seven has taken in dozens of foster kids over the last 19 years, but after recently adopting five siblings, ages 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1, Lamont can now proudly say he's a father of 12.
This story truly begins back in 2000, when a kind gesture to friends in need sparked Lamont's nearly 20-year passion for helping kids.
"In the beginning, I was helping out some friends. They had lost their child to the system," Lamont told Good Morning America. "I went on and got certified and became a foster parent. I haven't stopped since."
He truly hasn't — since 2000, Lamont has fostered more than 30 children and previously adopted five kids in addition to his two biological children, Anthony and LaMonica.
He first adopted in 2007, when he welcomed twins Germayne and Tremayne. Then came a third child, Jamie, and a fourth named German. After that, Lamont officially adopted the first child he ever fostered: Michael.
"He was my third foster home and it ended up being my forever home," 27-year-old Michael Thomas recalled. "He [knew] my biological parents."
"Lamont never turned [a child] away," Michael continued. "They either aged out or went back home to their own families."
After adopting Michael, Lamont actually thought he was done adopting kids, but he recently came out of "retirement" for a very special case.
Lamont's oldest children had moved out of his home, and some of his kids had even started families of their own. But when he found out about a new group of siblings who needed his help, he decided to get recertified as a foster parent with the intent to adopt.
The children — Zendaya, 5, Jamel, 4, Nakia, 3, Major, 2 and Michaela, 1 — were the children of one of Lamont's former foster kids.
"The kids ended up being taken into care — I believe it was due to neglect," Lamont shared with Good Morning America. "They had them in four different homes, four different cities. They were separated for over a year-and-a-half."
It wasn't easy to get all five siblings together, but once he did, Lamont fostered the children for two years.
Last week, the pieces finally came together, when all five children were officially able to call Lamont "Dad."
"I was fighting to keep back the tears," he said of his adoption day with Judge Lisa Rodwin. "Every day I think about it, my eyes swell up. All that we endured to make this happen, it was something."
Raising five kids 5 and younger certainly takes a certain amount of stamina, but Lamont said he's not worried about that at all.
"They bring new energy to me," Lamont shared. "They're lovable kids, very affectionate. They deserve to be raised as siblings, and that was my fight."
Lamont's daughter LaMonica said that growing up in such an eclectic family was actually quite fun, and she praised her dad for his big heart.
"It's amazing he's taking on all of them," she told the morning show. "He does anything for everybody. He's a really a great man."
Michael added that caring for children is his father's "God-given call," so if anyone was meant to take on five small kids, it's him.
"We're all grown now. I can't believe he's started all over again," his son shared. "Lamont has been a life-saver to me. I wouldn't be the person that I am today, had Lamont not ventured in my life."
Lamont said he hopes that other people who read his story will perhaps be inspired to foster, or even maybe adopt, themselves.
"I wanted to make a difference by being a difference," he shared, "and I love what I do."
