Through July 4, The Post, in partnership with the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream, is spotlighting Americans sharing what the American dream means to them in 2026 — among them Matt Proulx, a Hasbro senior vice president who was raised in Rhode Island.
Every person should get a real opportunity in life. Everyone. Regardless of where you come from or how you were raised, you deserve that opening. What happens next, though, depends on what you choose to do with it.
I grew up as one of 13 children. My parents adopted 11 kids, and our home also served as a foster home, with more than 250 foster children coming through our doors over the years. Many of them carried deep wounds, and I saw firsthand the pain some children were forced to endure. But at some point, some found a way to break free from it. For some, that happened early; for others, it took much longer. The ones who were able to move beyond that hurt often went on to achieve remarkable things.
My parents began by offering short-term respite care for children who had to be removed from unsafe homes while they waited for a permanent or semi-permanent placement. Over time, our family became what was considered a therapeutic home — a place for children who had struggled or “failed out” of other foster placements. That meant we often took in the most difficult cases. Looking back, some of those stories revealed the darkest things people are capable of doing. Yet alongside that, I also witnessed the extraordinary good that people can offer.
Just a few months before my father died, he and my mother chose to adopt three more children — siblings who otherwise would have been separated and placed with different families. Even though we knew my dad was dying of cancer, my parents believed keeping those children together was simply the right thing to do.
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Today, those children are flourishing. They’re doing incredibly well. In foster care, the question is always whether a cycle can be broken. And when someone is given the chance to break one, the impact can ripple across generations.
The American Dream? I experience it every single day. I started with nothing — truly nothing. I came from very little. I often say we didn’t have two nickels to rub together, but somehow we made it work, and our home was always filled with love.
Now I look at my life and what I have, and I see the chance to give back to others. That, to me, is the dream: continuing to build a better life while doing your part to leave the world better than you found it.
The American Dream Video Project showcases real stories that illuminate pathways to opportunity. Featured at the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream (MCAAD), this series is part of the Center’s celebration of America’s 250th anniversary. MCAAD is Washington, DC’s newest cultural institution, offering interactive exhibits and stories about achieving the American Dream. For more information, visit mcaad.org.
