Rascal Flatts will be joined by American Idol‘s Phillip Phillips, Matchbox Twenty, Melissa Etheridge, and The X Factor‘s Rachel Crow as performers on the 14th annual A Home for the Holidays with Rascal Flatts TV special. Airing on CBS on December 19th at 8pm, the holiday special will also feature appearances by Wayne Brady, Kevin Frazier, and Jillian Michaels.

As with the previous years, A Home for the Holidays will feature true inspirational stories of adoption from foster case in order to “raise awareness for this important social issue.”

Here’s the scoop on the families featured on this year’s special, courtesy of CBS:

Crow Family (Los Angeles, Calif.)

“Everything I’ve done has been possible because of my family. They gave me the love and support to follow my dreams,” says 14-year-old recording artist and X Factor finalist Rachel Crow. Placed in foster care as an infant, she moved through three different foster homes in less than a year and faced an uncertain future until she was adopted by Kelly and Barbara Crow.

“Even as a toddler, Rachel had such spirit and drive to be the child she was meant to be, and before we knew it she became this little girl with the big voice,” says Barbara. Three years later, the Crows adopted their second daughter, Hannah. “The love I have for my girls is beyond anything,” says Kelly. Today 11-year-old Hannah is a straight-A student and Rachel has a recording contract with Columbia Records/Syco, a development deal with Nickelodeon and a recurring role on the comedy series Fred: The Show.”

Dunne Family (Tampa, Fla.)

If you met the Dunne brothers today you would never know they had been living apart, as they moved through 23 different foster homes in just five years. “Some nights I would try to hide under the covers because I was so scared,” says the youngest, John. Chris and Tammy Dunne had raised two daughters when they saw a picture of the four brothers in foster care. “My husband was adopted as an infant and I aged out of foster care without a family, so the boys really touched our hearts,” says Tammy.

“We wanted them to stay together, and made an instant decision to adopt all four,” says Chris. “You can’t think that no one will love you. There is someone and you just have to keep hoping,” says oldest brother Eric.

Burkett Family (Nashville, Tenn.)

“We met our son when he came to stay as a temporary foster placement. It started out as two days and turned into forever.” The Burketts always had a love for children and decided to become foster parents in 2009. “We wanted to bridge the gap between the uncertainty of a foster child’s past and the hope for an adoptive family in their future.” But fate had other plans. “The day after we met Anthony, we took him to his high school track meet and he politely said, ‘I’ll call you when I’m done.’ It broke my heart that he didn’t think we would cheer him on,” says Tahnesia.

“He had this shy smile of amazement when he realized we were there to watch him run and from that day on, we had a special bond,” says Brett. Now a star athlete, Anthony thrived in the care of his loving parents, and when the Burketts learned that Anthony had a sister in foster care, they adopted both children.

Moore Family (Long Beach, Calif.)

When Terri and John Moore married in 1988, they thought about having biological children, but instead decided to adopt. “We were very involved in our church and wanted to make a difference. Foster children need someone to champion them, and we knew we could give them the love they deserve.” The couple soon met 5-year-old Anthony and his 4-year-old brother Chris, who had been placed in foster care after being found homeless and abandoned.

“The boys just stole our hearts and that was the beginning of our wonderful family of six beautiful children,” says Terri. The Moores became an inspiration to their church, and today their congregation has fostered more than 50 children and more than 20 have been adopted.