Zaniyah: 30 Days of Hope

The 13-year-old loves animals, especially dogs and talking on the phone with friends

There are more than 600 children who are ready for 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 5:30 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. 2021 marks the fifth year 10 News is doing this series.


Meet Zaniyah

Zaniyah loves gospel and R&B music and likes playing card games.

Her favorite subjects in school are math and food occupation.

“I’m honest and true,” she said.

The 13-year-old loves animals, especially dogs and talking on the phone with friends. Her favorite foods are macaroni and cheese, chicken, collard greens and pepperoni pizza.

She likes being outside and doing things like going to the park, movie theater, grocery store and shopping for clothes and shoes. In her free time, she loves to style hair on doll babies or mannequins.

Zaniyah would thrive in an empathetic home where parents understand the issues Black children face while growing up.

“I hope for a family to care for me, respect me and treat me well,” she said.

Zaniyah would benefit from a loving forever family that would commit to providing Zaniyah the consistent love and support to successfully flourish.


If you have questions about Zaniyah or foster care/adoption, contact VDSS Division of Family Services, Juliet Baldwin, Adoption Recruitment Coordinator, at adoptioninquiries@dss.virginia.gov.

You can see more about Zaniyah here as part of the I Belong Project™. These videos are a project of Virginia’s Kids Belong.

To see other 30 Days of Hope stories visit us here.

We also have a list of frequently asked questions about foster care and adoption including the cost, training, etc in this link.


About the Author:

You can see Jenna weekday mornings at the anchor desk on WSLS 10 Today from 5-7 a.m. She also leads our monthly Solutionaries Series, where we highlight the creative thinkers and doers working to make the world a better place.