Marine Walks Into Classroom In Order To Tell Brothers They're Leaving Foster Care And She's Adopting Them

Oct 02, 2020

While there are many heartbreaking stories about children from broken homes growing up in the foster care system, there are also some beautiful stories about those families being reunited.

When Melissa Irons was asked to be a part of a documentary, she did not realize that she was actually going to be on the video series Prank It FWD back in 2014.

This is a YouTube series that pranks people in meaningful ways rather than simply to get a laugh.

According to a Prank It FWD video in 2014, Melissa was separated from her two young brothers, Christian and JJ, many years ago. In fact, because their birth mother had been in prison numerous times, all three siblings were raised separately in different foster homes.

The two boys were thankfully thriving in their separate foster homes, but the siblings all had a strong desire to be with their own family members.

When Melissa was old enough, she joined the Marines so that she could mature and become more responsible. She knew that she would need plenty of confidence as well as a proven track record of being responsible in order for a judge to grant her custody of her brothers. After all, she was a very young adult herself.

After spending a few years in the Marines, Melissa filed for legal custody of her two younger brothers when she was only 21 years old. While other people her age were out partying, going to college and otherwise living somewhat carefree lives, Melissa was focused on reuniting her scattered family.

Her most significant obstacle was actually not related to her age or her ability to prove that she was emotionally fit to become a legal guardian to her two brothers. As a young adult in the military, Melissa struggled financially. This is where Prank It FWD came into the picture.

The YouTube video series surprised her with numerous much-needed gifts, including one month of rent, a prepaid gas card, extra food, a second cell phone, and even a new car.

In 2014, Kim Evey created a GoFundMe Fundraiser to help Melissa with the extra costs of raising two boys, and in 2016, Melissa posted an update to the fundraising campaign.

"The boys are getting so tall it's ridiculous," she wrote. "I can hardly keep up with what fits and doesn't fit anymore because they're growing like weeds. They like video games, sports, skateboarding, but the thing they really NEED would be clothes."

To read the whole post, visit Melissa's GoFundMe page.

Melissa’s story is proof that anyone can work hard and overcome obstacles with perseverance and the right strategy. Are you aware of any amazing stories of personal struggle that have been overcome with monumental effort? Leave your story below and pass this along to your friends and family!