ROANOKE – Twelve-year-old Mariana loves to laugh.
"What's a cat's favorite color?" she jokes. "Purrr-pule!"
She wants to be a singer when she grows up and likes Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, and the Christian rapper NF.
"She's always down for a car karaoke session and will absolutely know every word to every song that's played. She loves having the windows down, having the music cranked up and just rolling down the road jamming out," said Morgan Bays-Simpson, a Roanoke County family services specialist.
We gave them a tour of the 10 News studios, showing them what it was like to put on a newscast.
"She is a spunky young lady. She's got a personality that will absolutely fill the room. She might be reserved at first but she can't stand to keep that personality in for too long and once it's there it's there," said Bays-Simpson.
Mariana also likes reading, fashion, camping and being in the pool. She eventually wants a kitten.
"She would definitely do well with foster parents who have previous experience. She would do well with foster parents who are very versed in a trauma-informed parenting style," said Bays-Simpson. "I've seen amazing progress from kids who are in a safe and stable placement that's a family setting. It's so important for kids to have family because it just helps them grow and blossom."
We asked Mariana if she could pick the kind of family she wanted, what kind of family would she pick?
"One that won't leave me," she said.
Mariana wants other kids in foster care to not give up on their dreams.
"It's going to take time, it's going to take practice but you're still going to find a family," said Mariana.
If you would like to learn more about Mariana or have questions about foster care/adoption, contact Cindy Davis at DePaul Community Resources at cdavis@depaulcr.org or 540.381.1848 x 4009 or online at www.depaulcr.org
There are more than 600 children who are ready for foster to adoption in Virginia. They are ready to find a permanent and loving forever family. 10 News is profiling one child who needs a home every day at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. in 30 Days of Hope. The children are all ages and races and were put into foster care due to no fault of their own.