Here is some of what I have been doing the past month or so:
Dyngus Day: April 25
It was an honor to be part of one of the world's most popular Dyngus Day parades, right in the heart of Buffalo, NY! The parade, run by Dyngus Day Buffalo and Dyngus Day USA, promotes public awareness of Buffalo as the Dyngus Day Capital of the World. It is the goal of the organization to grow Dyngus Day through public awareness and education and to promote Polish customs with accuracy, integrity, and liveliness. Dyngus Day USA is an ongoing contributor to the promotion and development of Polish American culture throughout North America. Jeszcze Polonia Nie Zginęła!
Visit to KED & Renaissance Campus:
The mission of the Kids Escaping Drugs organization is to raise, manage and distribute funds for the development and support of facilities, education and prevention programs for adolescents and their families in Western New York suffering from alcohol and drug dependency/addiction. The Campus consists of three buildings that house up to 62 chemically-dependent youths ages 12 to 20. Renaissance House is a 30 bed intensive treatment facility for boys, Stepping Stones is a 16 bed girls' residence which combines both inpatient and continuum of care programs while Promise House is a 16 bed continuum of care residence for boys. Visiting the campus and learning about just how much of a problem substance abuse is in the WNY area, primarily in middle and High School aged kids, was a real eye opener and certainly instilled a greater drive for me to make an impact with my platform of Peer, Community & Family Influence on Curbing Substance Abuse. My visit allowed me to connect with members of the organization in a capacity that will allow me to do this and for that I am excited and grateful. This trip was a success!
CMN Bachelor Auction in Corning
This has been one of the most fun appearances I have had thus far! It was awesome to connect with the community in which my title represents along with raising just over $3,000 for the Children's Miracle Network! I escorted the handsome bachelors along with Miss FL 2010 Amy Valenti, Miss Greater Rochester 2011 Chelsea Prophet, and Stacey Minchin Miss NY International. Our choreographed dances and skits down the runway stole the show and helped to show the ladies how worthy these guys were of bidding on!
Kids Escaping Drugs & NHS Walk for Kids: For 19 years, the Kids Escaping Drugs Campaign and the local National Honor Society chapters have been working together to raise over $280,000 for Renaissance Campus with the Walk for Kids event! This year's walk was held at Canisius College's Koessler Athletic Center, which was especially cool for me because as a Sports Medicine major I have spent a lot of time there and it was a great last memory to create there. I worked the raffle table and was so lucky to have met Josh who is a graduate of Renaissance House and who shared his story of triumph over addiction with me. He was beyond inspiring and someone that I will continue to confide in for help with work related to my platform. The entire event was so well put together and an amazing way for High School kids to do their part to support substance abuse awareness and help put an end to the ever prevalent issue that they experience among their peers on a daily basis!
So now that I am caught up you can expect regular updates with a lot of fun stuff!
XO,
Charlotte
Great pictures Charlotte! Also congrats on passing the NATABOC exam! I know it's a tough one-- my brother studied for it for months when he took it a few years ago. If you want to email or skype about pageant things let me know!
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