Little Miracles

I had the absolute honor of delivering five heaping plastic totes full of toys to Children's Hospital Boston. I held a toy drive at the Bow Elementary School and those little elves sure did a wonderful job bringing in toys! After delivering the toys in the "Silver Sleigh" (our silver Toyota minivan), I had the opportunity to talk with some of the children about the holidays. One little boy was so excited that he almost jumped out of his chair when he was talking about the visit from Santa that he would be getting. I can not wait to go back to Children's Hospital Boston to do some more volunteering! It is just so easy to fall in love instantly with those kids.
Happy Holidays! ~Lauren

A Little Nutcracker Magic...

On Friday, December 10th and Sunday, December 12th, my dance school, New Hampshire School of Ballet performed our first two Nutcrackers of the holiday season. Our team did SUCH an amazing job, and I am SO proud of all of my team mates!!! The performances were at the Concord City Auditorium in Concord, and the Claremont Opera House in Claremont. I was especially excited for this Nutcracker, because I would be dancing with my dad. Our dance studio doesn't have any grown boys to do the partnering, so in the "Adagio" (partnering) classes, our fathers partner us. We call them "Adagio Dads." My dad did the BEST job ever!!! We landed all of our lifts and turns, and I'm proud to say that as a whole, our entire team did the best job that we've ever done before! As for my dad, he's a great partner and I am so lucky to have such a supportive father, and who knows, when he retires he could even get a job at the Boston Ballet as a professional partner ;). What really made my night was when I looked out in the audience during the "Snow Scene" and saw Grace, the little girl that I baby sit. I gave her a wink during one part of the dance and she gave me an excited smile and a shy little wave. She was so excited when she came back stage during intermission to meet the cast. I said to her, "Grace, would you like to meet the Sugar Plum Fairy?" Clinging to my leg, we hobbled over to my friend Dana, who was playing the Sugar Plum Fairy, and eventually she met the rest of the cast. The first two performances of the Nutcracker really got me into the holiday spirit!!! I can not wait to do it again! Don't miss our final Nutcracker of the season, December 28th at the Palace Theater in Manchester, NH. Thanks to my wonderful teacher Jen, who makes the magic of performing in the Nutcracker a reality for all of us!
With love,
Lauren
http://www.nhschoolofballet.com/

Vote for Miss New Hampshire!

The Miss America Organization announces your opportunity to vote for Miss New Hampshire to become the "America's Choice" Finalist at the 2011 Miss America Pageant.

• Using your mobile phone, text MANH to 24470
• Vote for MISS NH’S video at the links provided at MissAmerica.org/VideoContest
• "Like" MISS NH’S video at Facebook.com/MissAmericaOrganization, at the links provided under the “VIDEO CONTEST” tab
• "Like" MISS NH’S video at YouTube.com/MissAmericaOrg

Happy Holidays!

Hello! Recently I have been on the run, filling my weeks with community service events and appearances!!! I had a great time volunteering at the Jingle Bell Run for the Arthritis Foundation! It was awesome seeing so many people get dressed up as Christmas characters to go for a 5K run. Such a wonderful event! The Portsmouth Holiday Parade was an absolute BLAST!!! I even got a few kisses blown back to me from some of the kids:) What made it even more special and fun was the scavenger hunt that Kamilah and I participated in. The scavenger hunt is a holiday parade tradition. I am proud to say that we conquered the night and got everything on our list!!! We had a great time meeting marching bands, cheer leading squads, and people dressed up as crazy holiday characters. Our driver Mark was super nice too!

Last night I had my first Nutcracker of the season. Great job TEAM!!! We had a beautiful show. I was SO excited to see Grace (the little girl I babysit) in the audience. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful support system, thanks to my mom (for helping me with my 20 second change and just being my mom), my grandparents, my father (and dance partner), and my brother for being so supportive. Tomorrow we have a performance at the historic Claremont Opera House

On Friday, I visited the Bow Elementary School again to talk about my platform. I have been organizing a Toy Drive for the Children's Miracle Network at Children's Hospital Boston. I was so excited to see that they already had so many toys that they have collected! We also made "Hope Bracelets" for the pediatric patients and invited everyone to the "Princess Party" at Applebee's in Hooksett to benefit the Children's Miracle Network on Thursday, December 16th from 5p-10p.

Wear your best "Princess" attire and ask for the Children's Miracle Network flier at the door! 15% of your bill will be donated to the Miss NH Children's Miracle Network Fund. Please join us for food, fun and miracles.

Everyone keep voting for Krystal!!!! She'll do a FABULOUS job as Miss America.

With love & miracles, Lauren

Bella's Circus

I was so lucky to be a part of Bella's Circus at Pinkerton Academy in Derry, NH that helped raise $14,000 for the Bella Tucker fund. It was so nice to see the community come together for this amazing young girl and to enjoy the spectacular circus show put on by performers from Cirque de Soleil, Ringling Brothers, Chicago's Midnight Circus and Circus Smirkus. http://www.bellatucker.org/

Miss Rockingham County

Congratulations to the new Miss Rockingham County Katrina Lynne Ulaky and Miss Rockingham County's Outstanding Teen Angela-Marie Conklin. Thank you Paula Moore for your exceptional service and commitment to the Miss New Hampshire Scholarship Program. And best wishes to Joy and Justine Barker, the new Directors for the Miss Rockingham County Scholarship Program.

P.S. It's always fun to reunite with former Miss Strafford County titleholders. This year four Miss Strafford Countys will compete in the Miss New Hampshire Scholarship Program: Caitlin McGlinchey (MSC '07), Miss Lakes Region 2011; Jenn Clements (MSC '09), Miss Berlin-Gorham 2011; Lissa Silk (MSC '10), Miss Winnipesaukee 2011 and Miss Strafford County 2011: Kamilah Fucci.

Fourth Annual Manchester City Marathon

Congratulations to the more than 1,500 runners who participated in the Fourth Manchester City Marathon to raise funds for The Mental Health Center of Greater Manchester http://www.mhcgm.org/. Thank you to Andy Schachat, Mayor Ted Gatsas and Anthem for an exciting day of racing. Congratulations to 2010 Race Champion Evan Graves who finished in 2:29:39! Hope to see you running next year http://www.cityofmanchestermarathon.com/.

Caring and Sharing Food Drive

It was an honor to join Susan Demers Weigold, Dan Lunnie, Mike from C&J and the Dover Fire Department at Hannaford for the Seacoast's largest food drive. http://www.987thebay.com/

Miss Gate City & Miss Souhegan Valley

Congratulations to Brittany Freeman, Miss Gate City; Brittany Dube, Miss Souhegan Valley; Victoria Whalen, the new Miss Gate City's Outstanding Teen; Makenzie Goode, Miss Gate City Preteen and Ariel Hunt, Little Miss Gate City!

Pats 28-Vikings 18 (and 10 stitches for Favre)

My first trip to Gillette Stadium to help raise funds for the Miss NH Scholarship Program. MC, Jessica, Katie and I had a blast with all the crazy Halloween characters. Thank you to the Tidds who organize the volunteers and run the concession stand at every game...raising over $15,000 last year. A huge thank you to Mr. Rossi, Tina and Danny who cooked all the delicious pizza, fried dough and hot dogs. We are always looking for volunteers to help out at games. Learn more at http://www.missnh.com/gillette/ Love & Miracles, Lauren

P.S. It was awesome to see my friend Kendall http://www.missmaoutstandingteen.org/ who was working at the Miss Massachusetts Booth next door. I'll see her again soon at the Skating Club of Boston for BLADES AND BALLOONS to benefit Children's Miracle Network hosted by Miss Massachusetts 2010: Loren Galler Rabinowitz. Order your tickets today at http://missmass.org/

Find Your Magic at Macy's

Macy's fifth annual "Shop For A Cause" charity shopping event on Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010 raised more than $4 million dollars for Feeding America and The Family Violence Prevention Fund.

We had the most wonderful time at Macy's Shop for a Cause 2010. It was so much fun working with the fabulous Macy's Team. A huge thank you to Macy's General Manager Kevin Neal and Catherine who create a magical event every year! It was amazing to meet all the children that came to visit our table. The very best thing about being a Miss America local titleholder is sharing the excitement of the Miss America crown with little girls...they absolutely love to try on the crown!

The Fashion Shows were fantastic. The INC clothing line from Macy's is unbelievable, so chic and classy. Thank you to gorgeous celebrity models Lissa, Sarah, Sarah, Meghan, Nicole, Sienna, Lauren and Celina. Sarah and Lauren entertained and Bess stopped by to sign autographs too. I can't wait for next year! With Style, Kamilah

http://www.macys.com/

Lights On Afterschool Celebration

It was an honor to join the one million Americans and more than 7,500 communities celebrating the 11th Annual Lights On Afterschool on October 21, 2010. President Obama issued a special message for Lights On Afterschool applauding the efforts of afterschool programs. Mt Rushmore and the Empire State Building were lit up for Lights On Afterschool. 50 Governors proclaimed Oct 21 Lights On Afterschool day and the U.S. Senate passed a resolution on Lights On Afterschool. http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/

In Strafford County, more than 250 community members celebrated at the New Hampshire Children's Museum with Suzanne Birdsall from the NH Department of Eduction. Junk to Funk rocked the Rotary Stage and everyone had a blast. It was so nice to catch up with Bridget Farmer who was a Judge at the Miss Strafford County's Outstanding Teen Program. Thank you to all of the educators, program leaders and volunteers who create quality after school programs that enrich the lives of students and families! Love & Miracles, Lauren