National Adoption Day
Saturday, November 17, 2018
Nearly 5,000 children were adopted during the
National Adoption Day observance in 2017.
World Adoption Day
Friday, November 9, 2018
The overall number of adoptions to the United
States in fiscal year 2017 was 4,714, a decline
of 658 from the previous year.
Source: U.S. Department of State
Saint Leo University SPIRIT.SAINTLEO.EDU 15
ing, Joe was theirs. “We brought him back to the
hotel and stared at him,” Jeanne Fuller recalled.
“Now what do we do? We gave him a bath! He
spoke Russian to us. It was interesting to see
him see a whole new world.”
At almost 2, Alexander “Sasha” Alexandrovich
Foliniykh, became Joseph Paul Alexander
Fuller, who grew up in a loving, Catholic family
in Sidney, Ohio. March 19 is his “Gotcha Day,”
a day the Fullers have traditionally celebrated
throughout the years with a chocolate chip
cookie cake. “I was one of 4,491 kids adopted
that day,” Fuller said. “And of those, more than
60 percent were claimed by American families.”
The Fuller family became complete when
they adopted daughter Sara from Russia, too.
“I was holding her when I got out of the car,”
Jeanne Fuller said of Sara. “Joe wouldn’t talk to
me. I had to bribe him!”
Faith played a big role in the family with the
Fuller children attending Catholic elementary
and high school. “When he got to high school,
his faith grew,” Jeanne said of Joseph. Now he
attends St. Anne Byzantine Catholic Church in
New Port Richey, an Eastern Catholic church.
He is a third-degree Knight in the Knights of
Columbus organization.
When it came time to choose a college,
Joseph Fuller said he was looking at 40 schools.
“I cut them down by class size, rural vs. city,
Catholic or public,” he said. And he chose
Saint Leo.
Fuller earned athletic scholarships and continued
pursuing his passion of running, which
he started in eighth-grade cross country. As a
Lion, he qualified for the NCAA Cross Country
National Championships three times and was
a member of two Sunshine State Conference
championship teams. With his teammates, he
volunteered at the Gasparilla Distance Classic
in Tampa, which enjoys a good reputation
statewide. Now, he serves on the organizational
committee for the Gasparilla races as well as
organizing the smaller Rattlesnake Run for
Pasco County’s Rattlesnake Festival and the
RAP River Run in New Port Richey.
When he turned 21, Fuller formed the I Play
Track Foundation. The name comes from a
Tweet in which someone asks, “What sport do
you play?” The answer: I play track.
Fuller had been donating his cross country
and track spikes to children in need. “There
were a lot of kids who had shoes in disrepair,”
Fuller said. “I thought it would be nice to give
back to the running community that got me
through college.
“On my 21st birthday, I grabbed my shoes
and the shoes my sister had, and I kicked off the
charity,” he said. Now, the I Play Track Foundation
is awaiting 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charity
status.
“I usually just take gently used running shoes
and track spikes,” Fuller said. “Some people
give new ones. I collect at running events, road
races, and other events.”
Coaches send Fuller an email or contact him
through the I Play Track Facebook page and tell
him what size shoes they need for their athletes.
“I go through inventory, send the coach a list,
and then they pick the shoe for that athlete.
That’s important. I want them in the right shoe.
That’s the benefit of me being an athlete. I
know that there are different shoes for different
athletes.”
Giving back to the community and those
who have supported him is important to Fuller.
“I feel that every child, no matter who he or
she is or where he or she comes from, deserves
to be loved and valued.” •
Joseph Fuller ’18 ran
cross country for Saint
Leo and founded the I
Play Track Foundation.
At far left is a display
of the type of running
shoes he collects and
donates to children in
need. At top left,
Joseph Fuller’s adoption/
passport paperwork
shows his new
name in Russian.
At top right, Jeanne
Fuller delights in her
new son Joseph.
I Play Track Foundation
For more information, visit facebook.com/IPlayTrack-
Foundation or email iplaytrackfuller@icloud.com
/SPIRIT.SAINTLEO.EDU
/IPlayTrack-
link