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KAYSVILLE — Brooklyn McKenzie waited anxiously Sunday to meet a boy she had only ever seen pictures of — a boy with Down syndrome whom she had hoped for the past 10 years would find a family of his own.
In 2013, Brooklyn was a 7-year-old girl with a dream to go to Disneyland, and sold jam to reach that goal. That same year, a family member introduced her to an organization called RODS Heroes that helps children with Down syndrome who have been orphaned to find families. One look at a picture of a boy her age, named Vaughn from Colombia, and she knew Disneyland could wait.
The amount of money Brooklyn earned selling jam was approximately $500, which was just the right amount to help the organization reach its $15,000 goal toward adoption fees for Vaughn.
Over the next 10 years, however, Vaughn was not able to find a family, and according to RODS Heroes founder Brady Murray, time was running out.
"We've actually never had a child that we put forth advocacy efforts for who went that long without being adopted," Murray explained. "It was unexplainable that we could not get Vaughn a family. Weeks turned into months, months turned into years and, before we knew it, an entire decade had passed and we still didn't have him a family.
"We were down to the wire. It was a matter of just a few weeks before he was not going to be adoptable."
Murray explained that at the age of 16, children with Down syndrome become ineligible to be adopted and, last year, Vaughn was 15 years old. In what Murray described as a miracle, just weeks before turning 16, the Janice family, from Colorado, adopted Vaughn.
"We got that miracle that we were looking for with the Janice family coming forward," Murray said. "Having worked in this space for so many years, I've seen miracles happen time and time again, and I believe that there is always a divine hand guiding this work, especially when it comes to these kids who have special needs.
"Now, to actually see him and be with him, and to be in the same room with Brooklyn — who was such an instrumental piece in this as well — it's the stuff dreams are made of."
Meeting Vaughn
Brooklyn, who is now a senior at Davis High School, said as the years went on, she had always hoped that Vaughn would find a family and when she got the news he was adopted, she was very happy for him.
"Thinking back, I felt like I had such a connection to this little boy. … Some part of me realized that he needed a home more than I needed Disneyland," she said. "When I found out he was adopted, it was just so touching because I kind of got to think back to all those memories of selling jam and just saw what good it did for him."
Brooklyn explained she didn't think she would ever meet Vaughn — but meeting him was a wonderful experience.
"For whatever reason, we just clicked, and I think that was just really special just to have that connection," she told KSL.com. "We had never met, but we already seemed so close. It was just a really sweet experience."
The experience was made even sweeter when the families were both surprised with a trip to Disneyland — an experience neither Brooklyn nor Vaughn have been able to have.
"It's really exciting that we get to experience this together," Brooklyn said. "It just makes my little 7-year-old heart happy."
Opening more doors
Utah County-based RODS Heroes has helped hundreds of children with Down syndrome find families and, according to Murray, Vaughn's story has opened opportunities for even more to find their forever families.
"Vaughan was the catalyst and the key to open the floodgates for adoptions in Colombia," Murray said. "We had zero adoptions in Colombia for that entire time that Vaughan was waiting to be adopted, and when he got a family, it allowed us to be able to go to Colombia and meet other children that we're (now) advocating for. We have close to 30 kids in the process of being adopted right now and it's all as a result of this little guy."
RODS Heroes is a nonprofit organization with a goal to inspire families to adopt children with Down syndrome or other unique circumstances.
For more information on other children like Vaughn, visit rods.org.
