PSA advocating foster parenting features Packers' Ty Montgomery, his mom: "Why wouldn't you want to do it?"



GREEN BAY -- A new PSA features Green Bay Packers' Ty Montgomery, and his mother -- and advocates for foster parenting.

The PSA was posted to YouTube Friday, January 6th by the Coalition for Children, Youth & Families -- created for FosterParentsRock.org.

Lisa Montgomery is Ty Montgomery's biological mother. Ty Montgomery was an only child growing up. That is, until third grade, when he told his mom he wanted brothers. Since then, his mother has served as a foster parent for 17 children.

"I grew up an only child, so I'm biologically hers and I always wanted siblings. I always wanted brothers. That's how she got into (foster parenting) -- and from there on, it just took off. One brother turning into 17," Montgomery told FOX6 News in May.

"From my very first, Lee to my very last, Raymond -- 17 in total. I think it ended up being a lot of kids because I refused to break up the family, in all honesty," Lisa Montgomery said back in May.

With 17 boys total, including Ty Montgomery, sports became a main part of the family's everyday life.

"With Ty playing football, Eddie playing basketball, Lee doing football and wrestling, Michael doing track, Kenneth doing track, it was always something going on. We had every sport," Lisa Montgomery said.

"It's definitely made us very competitive. One thing we did a lot was play basketball. We played basketball a ton. We ended up getting boxing gloves and we boxed each other sometimes. It was just so much fun, very competitive," Ty Montgomery said.

Ty Montgomery said he considers his foster siblings brothers.

"Your biological child gains a brother or a sister or a mentor -- and it's win-win! What does it cost you to have someone in your home and to say 'here - I am going to support you. I am going to be there for you.' You get in their head and you let them know how special they are," Lisa Montgomery says in the PSA.

"The good part about it is if you have a heart and if you want to love and have the love, take a kid," Lisa Montgomery said in May.

"I think you have to understand that these kids -- they come from situations they were sort of forced into. It's not really their fault. You got to be a little patient with them and try to understand where they are coming from, and eventually you'll take off the foster and you just become a parent, and that's all it is -- just wanting to love," Ty Montgomery said in May.

"If you can give a child stability and love and family, why wouldn't you want to do that?" Ty Montgomery says in the PSA.

While Ty Montgomery wasn't a foster child, he said he believes he's living his dreams because of his family.

"They were a lot of my encouragement to play football and to continue to do it and play in the NFL and keep working hard and they kept me focused a lot of the time. My first touchdown I scored, the first thing I thought about was all my foster brothers and when I talked to them they were all so proud if me," Ty Montgomery said.

Lisa Montgomery says the whole family still gets together for holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas -- and especially for her birthday.

CLICK HERE to learn more about becoming a foster parent.