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12-year-old Kenzie wants a family that she knows will take care of her

Posted at 4:36 AM, Feb 28, 2020
and last updated 2021-03-05 09:45:28-05

DETROIT (WXYZ) — Kenzie is the name McKanize likes go by. The 12-year-old is a sweet girl who’s hoping to be adopted out of foster care soon.

One of her favorite activities involves crayons, markers, and colored pencils.

“I like coloring. It’s my favorite thing to do. I like to color dot-coloring books. It can be like butterflies. It can be like cupcakes. It can be like designs,” she explained.

Her favorite subject is math.

“I like doing equations and stuff – the minuses and pluses,” said Kenzie.

She likes to watch cooking shows on TV. But she doesn’t want to be a baker or chef.

“I’d like to be a cop when I grow up. I just like helping people, saving people. When you see police officers, they help people. And I want to help people when I grow up,” she said.

She dreams of being part of a family.

“I want to live in a neighborhood in a big house. I want three dogs, one cat, one bunny,” said Kenzie. “I want one brother, one sister, and a mom and a dad. Whatever they want to do, I would do with them.”

“I would want the family to color with me or, like, watch TV, movies,” she added.

She’d also like to go places with them. One day she’d like to travel to Disney World, China, and Australia. She wants to see kangaroos in the wild.

“If I had one wish, my wish would find a foster family instead of being in treatment centers.
I’ve been in treatment centers my whole life. My mom – I don’t really have a Mom. I want a place to stay, a place I know can take care of me,” she said softly.

If you’d like to learn more about McKanize – a.k.a. “Kenzie” – click here.

If you’d like to talk with someone about adopting Kenzie, please call theMichigan Adoption Resource Exchange at (800)589-6273.

You can always help by sharing her Grant Me Hope story on social media. Thank you!

Grant Me Hope is a marketing initiative to find older foster children adoptive homes before they age out of the foster care system. The non-profit is a collaboration of businesses, MARE (Michigan Adoption Resource Exchange), Michigan Department of Human Services, and Fusion Graphic Consultants. WXYZ is a proud media partner in this initiative.