Fresno adoptive mother of 6 named Woman of the Year

Assemblyman Jim Patterson honored an adoptive mother of six as the 23rd Assembly District’s 2017 Woman of the Year on Monday in Sacramento.

Lacey Dunkin, of Fresno, had filed to be an adoptive parent when a few months later she received a phone call. Five girls, ages 5, 2-year-old twins, 17 months and one whose age was not identified, were in need of a home. The biological mother had placed the sisters in foster care after she was unable to take care for them. Dunkin accepted.

During the adoption process, the biological mother found out she was pregnant again. She asked Dunkin if she would adopt the baby, too. Dunkin knew the baby was an addition of her new family that was meant to be and said yes.

The office of the 23rd Assembly District said Dunkin’s selfless act helped create a family and her story also raises awareness of the need for adoption.

This story was originally published March 7, 2017 at 6:46 PM with the headline "Fresno adoptive mother of 6 named Woman of the Year."