Polar Plunge for the LGH TeamWalk for CancerCare

I had such an amazing weekend of appearances!

It all started on Friday evening when I attended the Beantown Beauty Gala where all proceeds from the evening, including a silent auction of Boston related memorabelia, were donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for Breast Cancer Awareness! Ashley Bickford, Miss Connecticut USA 2010 also attendended.

On Saturday I was part of a Polar Plunge where all proceeds went toward the Lowell General Hospital's TeamWalk for CancerCare which I am the Honorary Chair for 2010. I want to thank all my supporters who helped me raise $300 which was part of a a total of $4000 raised with this event! It was such a beautiful day where an old friend from high school and I actually went in for a second time as it was for a great cause!

Sunday was back to a little bit of glamour by taking part in a bridal fashion show for New Hamsphire Wedding Magazine at the CR Sparks Event and Conference Center in Bedford, New Hampshire. The other models included Irene Raisis Alton, Miss New Hampshire United States 2009, Wendy Mello-Jack, Mrs. Massachusetts United States 2009, and my niece Alexandria who was a first time model and future contestant in the Miss New Hampshire Outstanding Teen Pageant for 2011! Thank you to David's Bridal for providing the beautiful bridal fashions we wore, and to Kristina Hathaway for putting together an amazing event!

After this wonderful weekend, I am looking forward to this week which starts on Thursday with wonderful appearances. Thursday I will be at the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the new Lowes that is opening in Lowell, Massachusetts, where a portion of the proceeds of all gift cards sold throughout the day will go toward the Habitat for Humanity Women Build Only Project. I'm so excited about this as I have been asked to be on the board for this project which Congresswoman Niki Tsongas is the Honorary Chair. On Friday I will take part in Boston's Go Red for Women Luncheon and be a model in the fashion show with other local celebrties. It will be an honor to participate in this event as the Go Red for Women program with the American Heart Association is the platform of choice for the Mrs. International Pageant. Saturday will bring me to the Avon Breast Cancer Walk for Boston Expo at the Reebok Headquarters in Canton, Massachusetts where I have been asked to speak about my participation in this event as a walker, the reason why we walk, and to share my mother's story about her breast cancer battle and why early detection is so important.

I will be sharing details with you next week after all these wonderful events that I feel so blessed to be part of! Till then, enjoy life, and give a little bit of yourself to a good cause, it will make a difference for those in need, but also for you!

Polar Plunge for the LGH TeamWalk for CancerCare

I am so excited for this weekend to come and to take part in the Polar Plunge to benefit LGH's TeamWalk for CancerCare! Call me nuts for doing it, but it is for a great cause, and something to check off on my list of To Do Items in my life. To date I have raised $275 for this event! Be sure to check out the pictures after the event, and do keep warm thoughts for the weather to be on my side!

Kick-Off for Relay for Life of Burlington

I was very honored to be asked by Tiffany Freeman, Cheryl Shafman and Janna Loureiro to be a Caregiver Speaker at the Kick-Off for the Relay for Life of Burlington on February 9. The event was incredible with the enthusiasm of the Committee for 2010, the amount of people already planning to participate including so many young people, two very moving Survivors telling their stories, and a beautiful Luminaria ceremony to honor Survivors and those whose memory we hold deep in our hearts. I was so excited when it was announced that I would be joining the Committee as the Chair for Mission and Advocacy. I look forward not only sharing my mother's story, but also the wonderful work that The American Cancer Society does for people afflicted with cancer and their families. For more information about this Relay for Life, please visit their website at: http://www.RelayForLife.org/BurlingtonMA.

Group does volunteer work on North Road habitat house - Bedford, MA - Bedford Minuteman

Group does volunteer work on North Road habitat house - Bedford, MA - Bedford Minuteman

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Habitat for Humanity of Greater Lowell - The Wiggins Home

Today started off really cold and the fingertips were going numb, but as the project to work on the Wiggins home started, all those things were forgotten. I had the wonderful opportunity to meet Debra Wiggins, the mother of two who will be moving into this home upon completion. Debra has two children, a daughter and son. This home is being built as a fully handicap accessible home as her son has Cerebral Palsy and needs to have wheelchair access throughout. It was amazing to actually work with Debra on her future home knowing that her kids will be able to play and enjoy this home and call it their own and know that their mom was such a large contributor to it being built.

On this project I also had the wonderful opportunity to meet my state sister queens, Miss Massachusetts USA, Lacey Wilson and Miss Massachusetts Teen USA, Brooke Bibeault, as well as Miss Connecticut USA, Ashley Bickford. The Habitat for Humanity Staff gave us such a warm welcome and even gave us pink hard hats with crowns attached with them, it was awesome! Lacey, Brooke, and I worked on digging a trench in the basement area and also outside of the house to allow for the main piping to be built. At the end of the day, we got to write a message within the house to promote the heart and warm wishes of the hard work put into the build for the walls that will be built around our messages.

Habitat for Humanity has built over 350,000 houses around the world, providing more than 1.75 million people in 3,000 communities with safe, decent, affordable shelter. This not a giveaway program. In addition to a down payment and monthly mortgage payments, homeowners invest hundreds of hours of their own labor (sweat equity) into building their Habitat house and the houses of others. For more information on this wonderful cause, please visit their website at: http://www.habitat.org/.

Thank you to the wonderful staff of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Lowell, the many volunteers, and the girls from Bentley who made this such a wonderful and memorable event for me, and one that I look forward to visiting often to view the progress until the home is finally completed!