Miss Maryland Orientation

This Saturday I had the wonderful opportunity to meet all of the Miss Maryland contestants at orientation in Hagerstown, Maryland.  It was great to finally have a chat with everyone and I am looking forward to spending more time with my pageant sisters during Miss Maryland week!  Funny enough, as soon as I arrived I realized that my sister queen Hannah, Miss University City, had picked out the same dress as I had! Sister queens and style twins! I would like to thank the board of directors for making the Miss Maryland Organization the exemplary program that it has become.  Without their hard work and dedication, the women in this organization would not be as outstanding.  Every woman in the program has a heart, mind, and devotion to scholarship, service, and personal development. 

After having our 2012 picture taken, we reconvened and headed over to lunch at Roy Rogers.  Roy Rogers has been a long time sponsor of the Miss Maryland pageant and I know I was thankful for my complimentary curly fries...they never disappoint!  Outside a enthusiastic Roy roped in more customers and I know I was appreciative of the friendly staff.  Every member of the Roy Rogers team was excited to have the Miss Maryland girls and we were happy to be there.  Thank you again Roy Rogers!

Back at our host hotel, the Ramada Plaza, each of the contestants were placed in their preliminary line up.  Being drawn a little late in the game, I start off the whole competition with interview in the Mu group!  I am thrilled just to be a part of Miss Maryland and cannot wait for the preliminaries to start.  With a little over a month of preparation left, I am working hard to ensure that I will feel positive about performance throughout the week :)

Best of luck to all of the Miss Maryland and Miss Maryland Outstanding Teen contestants.  Each and everyone of these young ladies has something special and unique to offer the Miss America Organization. Thank you again to the Miss Maryland Board of Directors for your selfless dedication to the program and Roy Rogers for the delicious lunch!

NEDA "Save a Life" Walk

National Eating Disorders Association "Save a Life" Walk

This Saturday, I took part in the National Eating Disorders Association "Save a Life" Walk.  Despite eating disorders being the leading cause of death for women ages 15 to 24, they are the least researched mental health disorder.  It is hard to sit back and accept that insurance companies refuse to provide the amount of necessary treatment for eating disorders because of the stigma placed on mental health illnesses.  Not only are eating disorders emotionally damaging, they are physically damaging as well and their need for exceptional treatment needs to be recognized.  With over 10 million women and at least 1 million men suffering with anorexia and bulumia, we all need to do our part to ensure awareness on this silent killer.

The walk started off at 9am with check in and promptly began at 10am.  I met with Amanda, the walk's coordinator who is only 16 years old.  I found her incredibly insightful and motivated to organize and hold the event.  She is passionate to raise awareness and her dedication to the cause is evident.  She had local businesses donate food and drinks and at the end held a raffle for all those registered.  Amanda also provided numerous resources for education, treatment, and nutrition. 

Another young woman I had the pleasure of meeting was Kaitlyn.  I admire her courage and commend her for sharing her story with the group.  I am so happy that with the proper treatment, Kaitlyn is in the final stages of recovery and is a beautiful inspiration to others.  I know from my experience, it is never easy to talk about your struggle with an eating disorder because it is such a secretive illness.  To come out and speak freely is not an easy thing to do, but even if one person is touched by Kaitlyn's story, than she has turned a incredibly painful part of her life into a positive.

Congratulations again to Amanda for raising over $2000 for eating disorders research! Without her hard work and dedication, the event would not have been the huge success that it was!

CMN Fundraiser at Rite Aid

CMN Fundraiser at Rite Aid, Havre de Grace, MD

On April 27th, I had the opportunity to attend a fundraiser for Children's Miracle Network at the Rite Aid in Havre de Grace, Maryland.  This was such a fun-filled, family event hosted by the lovely Marlene Scadden who has made it her mission to give back to CMN.  When her daughter Sidney was born at Johns Hopkins Hospital weighing in at only 1lb, CMN stepped up to ensure Sidney and Marlene alike were recieving the best care.  While Sidney was at the hospital, CMN paid for the family to stay at a hotel so they could be close to their daughter.  CMN also provided the family with a laptop to keep in touch with other family members when cell phone service was not available.  Today, Sidney is a happy, healthy, and beautiful 6 year old.

For Marlene, fundraising for CMN is not something she feels obligated to do, but a privledge to provide for other families just like hers.  Her selfless dedication is evident in everything she does.  As a pharmacist and loving mother, she hopes to inspire local miracles by contributing directly to Johns Hopkins.  I admire her courage, bravery, and faith in life.

At the event, Marlene brought in a variety of fun, family activities.  The "Legends of the Fog" creepy attraction intrigued and fascinated all, while the Ultimate Raven's Fans encouraged camaraderie and local pride.  AM radio station, Aberdeen 970, covered the event and I enjoyed being interviewed by their superior hosts! I was so grateful to be able to speak about the benefits of coming out to the fundraiser and how CMN hospital Johns Hopkins will recieve all proceeds from the event!

I'd like to say thank you to Marlene and Sidney for dedicating their time to a cause that can truly make a difference in a child's life.  Thank you to everyone who came out to support our own little miracle baby, Sidney, and the Baltimore community!

Visiting Johns Hopkins Children's Center

Visiting Maddie

Today I had the opportunity to visit a beautiful young girl named Maddie at Johns Hopkins, the Children's Miracle Network Hospital in the Baltimore/Washington district. Maddie suffered a terrible foot injury from a lawnmower accident and is now at the hospital recovering. Despite her condition, she is in good spirits and is confident she will be home soon with her family and friends.  Maddie has a courageous soul and has inspired me with her radiance. 

Perspective is what Maddie taught me today.  No matter how hard things get, remember what you have.  I have a loving, supporting family and the loyalist of friends.  I know that if I ever had to face a hardship like Maddie, I would be alright; just like Maddie.  Surrounded by pillow pals, balloons, and friendly faces, at only 9 years old Maddie does realize what she has. She has a family that loves her more than anything in this world that will never leave her side.

It's important to acknowledge the difference you can make in a child's recovery by just making a visit.  Raising funds is essential to providing the best care by equipping hospital's with the latest technology, but if you really want to heal the soul go for a visit.  The gesture alone can inspire miracles.

Teaming up with The Arena Club and CMN!

Teaming up with The Arena Club and Children's Miracle Network!

For the month of April I am proud to say that I am working directly with The Arena Club in Harford County to fundraise for CMN. The Arena Club has so generously made Children's Miracle Network the charity of the month. During this month, anyone who enrolls with the club and brings in a voucher that I can provide, a portion of their enrollment fee will go to benefit CMN. I am so thankful that The Arena Club has decided to support CMN with me but in my journey to Miss Maryland as well. Along with fundraising for CMN, I am working with the club to promote my platform through "looking good, feeling good" initiatives and healthy eating seminars. If you are interested in The Arena Club please visit, http://www.thearenaclub.com/, and email me at 381s09.208@gmail.com for details to recieve your CMN donation voucher!

CMN Fundraiser at Giant

CMN Fundraiser at Giant:

On Friday, April 13th I joined some of my lovely local queens to participate in Giant's Red Carpet Affair to benefit Children's Miracle Network. Gaint has launched a widly successful game called Triple Winner with the goal of making a difference in the fight against pediactric cancer. As a resident of Maryland, the proud home of John's Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, the proceeds of Triple Winner directly support the hospitals' mission. So many deserving children have recieved the care they need and research for pediatric cancer continues to be funded because of Triple Winner.

I was honored to be a part of Giant's Red Carpet Affair and had a great evening serving as an ambassdor for Children's Miracle Network. Along with Raven's super fans, the Chick Fil-A cow, and a pudgey Pillsbury Dough Boy, we all strutted our stuff down the aisle ways to promote a wonderful cause. By giving a small donation, princesses who came to give us a visit recieved a tiara, manicure, and paparazzi pictures to commemorate their glamourous evening amongst the stars. Our table also showcased Triple Winner game cards as well as inspiring stories from children whose recovery was made possible by generous donations. I want to say thank you to Giant and General Mills for sposoring and inviting the Miss America women to the event!

Partnership with National Eating Disorders Association

I have been an advocate for eating disorders recognition and treatment long before I became Miss Appalachia. Since struggling with my own battle against anorexia as a young teen, I have been a proponent for helping people understand eating disorders ever since. Focusing my studies initially in college towards nutrition and then shifting to family counseling, my goal has always been to be involved in eating disorders recovery. After giving mulitple seminars and presentations on influencing factors of eating disorders during college, I decided to complete a volunteer internship at the Center for Eating Disorders at Sheppard Pratt Psychiatric Hospital.

The biggest issue I feel related to eating disorders is co-morbidity, which is how I chose my platform. I found that even caretakers of ED patients did not fully understand the circumstances that surrounded the illness. An ED is more than simply the restriction, purging, or bingeing of food; it is a manifestation as an outlet of control.

Co-morbidity is a term that can be defined as the accompianment of another diagnosable disease/illness in conjuction with an ED (or any other illness). Depression is the most common illness associated with an ED but it is not limited. Once initial feelings of low self esteem and poor body image develop as a result of family troubles, peer pressure, lack of acceptance, or sports committment (etc.), an ED influenced by depression is only a step away. This is where I would like to take a stand. I would like people to RECOGNIZE the signs and take preventative cautions against the development of ED's. If people don't recognize that sadness, low self esteem, feeling at a loss of control, and perfectionist tendencies all play a role in ED development then ED's will continue to be the leading cause of death for women aged 15 to 24.

I have teamed up with NEDA, the National Eating Disorders Association, to participate and volunteer in their upcoming Walk against Eating Disorders. I'm extremely excited to begin my work with NEDA and I hope that with my contribution ED research will be on the rise. Shockingly, even though ED's are the most deadly mental illness, they are the least funded and researched.

Please visit my advocacy page for NEDA which is located on the right hand side of my blog. Just click the link and help support a cause that is so close to my heart.