Epilepsy Foundation

March was another great month. After almost four weeks without too much activity it all came at one. I had the great pleasure of meeting Kimberli Meadows at the Health Expo where I appeared in January. Kimberli invited me to work with the National Walk for Epilepsy which took place March 27th on the National Mall. It started as me appearing, then having me sing the National Anthem for the walk, then I was invited to perform and dine at the VIP reception kickoff event which took place the night before at the Ronald Reagan building. Present were volunteers, directors and other vip guests including Craig Melvin a well known sports anchor who emceed both events, Geoff Pope of the Philadelphia Eagle, Jason Snelling of the Atlanta Falcons, Alan Faneca of the Jets and Greg Grunberg of the hit tv show Heros's. Grunberg's eldest son has epilepsy, as do Snelling and Faneca and Faneca's adorable daughter. Pope's grandmother got epilepsy after having brain surgery. Happily through the efforts of this amazing foundation and all it's volunteers, those living with the condition have a voice and can feel less alone. I've learned the importance of understanding seizures and learning to recognize them and take action. Through Kimberli's efforts I was also invited to a lunch on March 11 at the foundation headquarters where I met Bob Madigan, the WTOP Man About Town. This amazing gentleman has been a force in getting support for the Epilepsy Foundation and the National Walk for Epilepsy. He did interviews with all in attendance at the lunch and was honored as the man of the year at the VIP reception for the National Walk.

Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services

March 23 I visited the Youth Services Center with the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services. This will definitely be one of my most memorable appearances. Visiting a juvenile detention center was very important to me. I feel I need to make it a point to visit and have a presence in places where they wouldn't necessarily expect to see me. I've learned throughout my year as Miss DC International how important a queen can be to the youth, and how important it is for them to have a role model who genuinely cares. I met with about 15 teenage girls ranging from 14 to 17. I didn't ask what they had done to be there. For and hour and a half we talked about overcoming life's obstacles, the importance of surrounding oneself with positive people, what they can learn from the experience of being in the rehabilitation center where they were locked up. I also asked all the teens where they saw themselves in 5 years and was open with them about obstacles I'd faced in my life and how and why I continued to push forward. They all gave me a hug at the end and I signed autograph cards for them with personalized messages. I don't know how much of a difference I made but they did at least express gratitude in my coming to visit them. They told me no one visits except church people and judges, and of course their lawyers. I had never been to a jail before, and it was intimidating to have that heavy door close behind me, locking me in. I can't imagine what it must be like to walk into a place knowing you have no choice in which side of the door you are on. That thing shuts behind you .....

DC Gaels Open Field Day

Sunday March 21st was an awesome day. I attended the DC Gaels open field day. The DC Gaels is part of an organization which promotes traditional Gaelic sports. They are part of a national league of mens and womens football and mens hurling and womens camogie. I learned hurling/camogie and as you see am pictured with a hurl, which is used to shoot or push the ball or sliotar. I arrived in full makeup and hair (of course) which I promptly placed in a bun on top of my head. We started with warm up exercises: running a lap around the field and calisthenics. Then we divided into coed groups, one for football and one for hurling. They were really great about taking the time to teach everyone the basics of the sport and make us all newcomers feel at ease. It was definitely one of my more fun and social events. It was also an event that reminded me of how amazing it is to be Miss District of Columbia and all the opportunities I've had to learn more of what DC has to offer.

1/25 Childrens Coat Drive

On Monday January 25th The Childrens Charities Foundation in conjunction with other DC childrens organizations including the DC Childrens Trust Fund handed out over 300 brand new coats to the needy children of the District. Lord and Taylor made deep discounts and through grants children were given brand new top of the line coats. It was great to know that so many young people were receiving gifts they needed that never belonged to anyone else.

MLK Day of Service

Yesterday 1/18 the nation celebrated the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King, and the District celebrated his birthday as an official day of service. There were over a thousand service activities happening all over the city. I participated in the the We Feed Our People event which has been an MLK tradition for over 20 year. Happily this was my third time working with this event. The brothers of Omega Psi Phi along with Serve DC with mayors office came together to make this event really special. Headed by volunteers in the fraternity, people get together over the weekend and cook all the food that is to be served to the homeless community. I helped with the cooking which is always fun because you get a chance to hang out with the other volunteers in a very chill setting. Monday morning there is an opening ceremony where the volunteers hear speeches by representatives from Omega Psi Phi, the mayors office and the presidents office who remind us of why we are all gathered together to make life better for all people. After the opening remarks everyone goes out to serve, listen to music and fellowship.

NBC 4 Health and Fitness Expo

Sunday 1/17 was my first appearance of the new year. I volunteered with the American Heart Association for the health and fitness expo. It's a free event where people get to come and learn about ways to stay healthy, and activities the entire family can get involved in to stay in shape. There were food demonstrations, sports demonstrations and doctors and experts on hand to give screenings and advice. I was there to get people signed up to get information about being heart healthy and involved in some of the activities sponsored by the American Heart Association. I walked around the expo a little bit and talked to women about the Go Red for women Red Dress campaign and shockingly most had never heard of it. Heart disease is a silent deadly killer and I hope more women became informed.

12/13 DC International Holiday brunch

Filomena Restaurant in Georgetown has one of the best and most beautiful brunches, especially during the holiday season. Our friends and supporters joined Juliana, Rita and I to celebrate the season and our fabulous year thus far. The food was amazing and the decorations were some of the best I've ever seen. Some of our guests included Mrs. DC International Erika Parkhurst, Miss Maryland Galaxy Nicole Almodovar and our former Mrs. DC International 2009 Diane Lebson.