Loving Way Foundation

04/19/2026

Dozens of local artists are coming together in Cathedral City for a weekend fundraiser benefiting the Loving Way Foundation. The event raises awareness and fund

04/16/2026

is SO proud to partner with our sister child abuse prevention nonprofit, on this crucial campaign to stop child abuse.
Every 15 seconds, a report of child abuse is made in the United States.
That’s about the time it takes to watch a short video on social media, scroll past a post, or read this message.

15 Seconds to Safety is about reclaiming those seconds to help end child abuse. Together, we can turn a moment of awareness into action and help protect children from abuse.
To share, share this reel, download it, repost it and send it to your friends both in real life and on social media.
Child abuse IS totally preventable and we can stop it in our tracks and protect our most innocent ones - our babies and our children.🩵🩷
www.Childhelp.org for more information

02/03/2026

Waylon’s feeding tube surgery was a success!
Thank you for all of your prayers, messages of love, calls and advice & experience.
Waylon had a peg tube surgically implanted which will help his nutrition and medicine administration and, hopefully, will help his weight and overall development.
I especially want to thank all of the staff at UCLA and all of the wonderful tubie moms out there who not only welcomed us into the community but sent some tips that made my nervous mama heart have a little peace before and during surgery - especially &
We just got discharged and are on our way home - and are eager to see where this new chapter of growth takes us!

02/03/2026

6 years after Waylon suffered
Abusive Head Trauma as a newborn,
today he has to get a feeding tube surgically implanted in his tummy due to the brain damage the abuse caused.
And my mama heart is feeling allll of the emotions that come with that. 💔
Thank you for all of your prayers and allll of the love.
We are feeling carried today - the way you always make us feel on these difficult days.
🩵🩷

01/29/2026

An update from Uncle Cheese Chris Richards:

Hi, Team Waylon,

I have a few important medical updates about our guy that I thought you would want to know about.

But first… it’s been 6 years now since our little hero was hurt. Things are relatively quiet at the moment on the criminal trial front. We’re expecting the trial to happen in the spring. We’ll let you know when something concrete is scheduled. I will say that we’re very happy with what the prosecution has said it will do to rectify all that was not presented to its fullest potential in the first trial. Waylon’s justice is coming, I have no doubt.

Of more importance, I wanted to let you know that Waylon is having surgery this Friday to place a feeding tube in his stomach so he can be given nutrition and medicine directly. Dawn and Waylon’s doctors have been discussing this for a while now. She has made every conceivable attempt to avoid having to resort to tube feeding/medicating, but going without it is no longer an option.

At 6 years and 2 months old, Waylon weighs 33 pounds — about as low on the weight percentile scale as you can be.

He is able to eat puréed food, which is a small miracle. He LOVES food, and is often delighted by it. But the brain injuries he suffered when he was abused by the defendant interfere with some of his body’s natural impulses (like digestion and bowel movements), and unfortunately appetite is among those. The feeling of hunger comes and goes, and that often makes feeding and administering his anti-seizure medications and laxatives a really stressful situation for Dawn and his caregiving team, turning what should be food fun into hours-long drudgery and oftentimes ineffective medication delivery.

I want to be very clear that 6 years on, Waylon having to have IV lines placed, be put under with anesthesia and have his belly cut open for a PEG tube is yet more pain and trauma being inflicted upon him by the monster who assaulted him.

This comes a week after Waylon endured another round of painful Botox injections in his arms and hands to try to loosen his Cerebral Palsy-stiffened limbs. He suffers through this procedure every 6 months.

So 6 years on, the pain and the health risks continue for Waylon. And for his heartbroken mom comes more pain of making impossibly difficult decisions like these, and having to watch her medically fragile son be wheeled into surgery once again. So I ask that you please keep them in your prayers and thoughts this Friday morning.

[If you have any questions about the surgery or how we can best support our little hero and his mom, you can contact Wendi at [email protected].]

Despite all the challenges and injustices, Waylon is the happiest person I’ve ever met — so I want to honor that by ending this update on a positive note: He recently underwent an overnight EEG in the hospital to analyze his brain activity, and doctors believe he’s been seizure-free for nearly 6 months thanks to the medication protocol they began this past July!

This is a huge win, and one that is rarely seen in severe epilepsy types like Waylon’s caused by Abusive Head Trauma. Epilepsy like his will be a slippery foe for his entire life, but we are grateful for it to be controlled at this moment. BIG congratulations to Dawn and the caring doctors who’ve worked so hard for years on this complex puzzle of treatments and medications, and of course to the bravest, most wonderful boy I know: Waylon McCoy.

Love to you all,
Uncle Cheese

www.LovingWayFoundation.org

01/14/2026

Happy Birthday to our Managing Director, Wendi Hauser .hauser ! 🎂
We are so grateful to have this inspiring woman at the helm of Loving Way with us.
From her awe-inspiring skills of organization…
To her quick thinking…
Impressive creativity…
Can-do attitude and unshakeable optimism…Big heart…
Sensitive soul…
And immense compassion that always keeps our abuse victims and victims’ families at the forefront of our mission…
We are SO grateful for Wendi!

A triple threat - she has worked in the nonprofit space, in education and in the world of television - all with the singular mission of making this world a safer, smarter, more joyful place.
You inspire us every day, Wendi.
And you indelibly touch the lives of every single person you come into contact with.
Thank you for ALL you do for Loving Way, for our victims, victims’ families, donors, partners and sponsors.

12/02/2025

This Giving Tuesday, please consider donating to Loving Way Foundation - born out of trauma, built with love.
Through the end of the year, we have a matching grant of $30,000 and your donation will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $30,000.
Our goal is to raise $60,000 by the end of December.
Please give generously to support our child abuse victims and their families - as we help them navigate medical & mobility challenges, harrowing justice journeys and do our best to help them find their joy in this “after.”
That’s what we’re here to do.
🩷🩵
To donate and to learn more, visit www.LovingWayFoundation.org/donate

11/24/2025

If you do one thing today - PLEASE watch this segment. It could save a child’s life.
Thank you for shining a bright light on ’s inaugural Abusive Head Trauma Awareness month - and for giving me the time and space to share how to spot Abusive Head Trauma and how to report it.
THIS is how we will STOP abuse.
By sharing the signs and symptoms in as many homes and with as many people as possible.

Abusive Head Trauma is one of the leading causes of death & lifelong disability in children under 2.
And 1 in 4 cases of abusive head trauma reported tragically results in a fatality.
My son was “lucky” - he survived the acute injury of his abuse when he was just 6 weeks old - yet, as a direct result of the abuse, he lives with quadriplegia, blindness, epilepsy, cerebral palsy and lack of motor & verbal skills as a result.

How can you support our mission?
Through the end of the year, we have a matching grant of $30,000 and your donation will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $30,000.
Please give generously to support our Abusive Head Trauma victims and their families - as we help them navigate medical & mobility challenges, harrowing justice journeys and do our best to help them find their joy in this “after.”
That’s what we’re here to do.

How else can you support us in sharing out our message this month?
Wear peach or teal - or both 🩷🩵- and share our messaging with your friends, family, coworkers & community - as well as on your social channels.
Why did we choose the month of November?
Because it’s Waylon’s birth month - and we want to honor the impact this strong little survivor is making on the child abuse community while honoring all of our victims - both our other survivors here on earth and our angels no longer here. 👼

🩷🩵

01/16/2025

Loving Way Foundation founder, Dawn McCoy, shared a deep-dive conversation with Katie Cline on her Suitesuccesspodcast.

Why should you listen?

Dawn’s story is one of resilience. Her son, Waylon, was only 6 weeks old when he was abused by someone he should have been able to trust. As a result, he suffered a traumatic brain injury. Dawn believes turning pain into purpose is the what drives meaningful change in this world. As such, she founded Loving Way Foundation, a nonprofit that fights to end child abuse through advocacy, awareness and visibility.

Our Favorite Quote from the Episode: “To be a family that has survived trauma, I just know that feeling of the ‘before’ and ‘after’. My heart breaks for the fact that they’re in the middle part, which is the hardest part. You know the ‘before’—it was just here yesterday—and the ‘after’ starts soon.
But you’re right now in the middle of—where am I?
You’re kind of in a purgatory.”

In addition to talking about what her family went through, here’s what else you can expect from this episode:

Why hospitality matters: Dawn spoke about the horrific tragedy that her home of Los Angeles is currently experiencing and how true, genuine hospitality can make a real difference, especially during the toughest moments. Whether its the local restaurants that are delivering meals to first responders or hotels and short-term rentals that are opening their doors to displaced families, our industry steps up in times of need. [11 min]

What makes a good pitch? As a television host, Dawn receives countless pitches from PR reps, hotels, destinations and more. Hear her talk about what makes her say ‘yes’ vs. what makes her delete your email. [16 min]

Dawn’s approach to branding: Building a personal brand, as well as building brands for her clients, is one of the many things Dawn excels at. She explains her approach to make your’s stand out. [20 min]

How to build a social audience: With nearly 300k followers on her personal instagram, Dawn shares the secret sauce to building an engaged audience. Hint: The algorithm has nothing to do with it. [30 min]

Watch & listen on Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6YZlqKsExeQUa1xD7Rx9fM?si=0eL0qUrRS36iOtec1cSovA

Listen on Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/suite-success-masters-of-hospitality/id1771523488?i=1000684202986

Watch & listen on YouTube:

https://link.sbstck.com/redirect/562ccdff-eb25-4638-a0c3-108eacc51f41?j=eyJ1IjoiMXJmaGprIn0.4--R8Slc8v4pBXB_yd2DHkGKGM22tOAOXyklSosFU7I

On this episode of Suite Success, host Katie Cline welcomes Dawn McCoy, a television host, writer, and founder of Loving Way Foundation. Dawn shares her rema...