Wednesday's Child: 11-Year-Old Carmela

Carmela loves to play basketball, so Anaridis Rodriguez took her to play hoops with the Boston University women's basketball team.

(MARE) - Carmela is an eleven-year-old girl of African American descent who describes herself as funny, silly and talkative. Carmela is athletic and she enjoys activities such as gymnastics, basketball and soccer. Her favorite gymnasts are Gabby Douglas and Simone Biles, and her favorite basketball player is LeBron James. Carmela likes watching basketball and gymnastics videos on YouTube, and she often reads chapter books about her favorite sports too! Some of the other activities Carmela enjoys are painting and listening to music. She also likes animals, specifically Maltese dogs. When she grows up, Carmela wants to become an Olympic gymnast, an actress, a teacher or a doctor.

In school, Carmela's favorite subjects are science, art and music. She enjoys going to school and learning new things. Carmela also really enjoys family time and responds well to caretakers who provide a lot of structure and redirection. Carmela is very social with both adults and children, and she is always interested in building relationships. The adults in her life say Carmela is curious and asks lots of questions.

Carmela is legally freed for adoption and would thrive in a family that has previous parenting experience. It is recommended that Carmela is placed in a home with two parents, as the youngest or only child. Interested families will need to be willing to maintain relationships Carmela has with members of her birth family.

For more information you can contact MARE: 617-964-MARE (6273) or visit www.mareinc.org.

Since its inception in 1981, Wednesday's Child has been a collaboration of the Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange (MARE), the Department of Children & Families and WBZ-TV/CBS Boston. Hosted by Jack Williams for 34 years, this weekly series has given a face and voice to the children who wait the longest for families. Wednesday's Child has helped find homes for hundreds of waiting children and continues to raise awareness about adoption from foster care.