My Trip to the Lake...

Well, I have to say that my visit to Lake Zorinsky in Omaha was anything but normal...

On December 8, the Special Olympics in Nebraska held their annual "Polar Bear Plunge" event. I think the name explains it all! Brook Burianek, Douglas County's Outstanding Teen, and I made up the Queen's Team that kicked off this very "cool" fund raiser! We were instructed to wear our evening gown, tennis shoes, and our crown and then take the plunge into the lake! Oh yeah, and did I mention that it was a mere 9 DEGREES outside?! They actually had to break the ice on the lake in the area where the plunge took place. Needless to say, I knew it would be cold, but little did I know how cold it would actually be! My shoes actually froze to my feet so my mom and I had an interesting time getting those tennies off! Despite the cold, it was a fun, memorable, and exciting experience!

Brook and I were the first two plungers out of nearly 250! Approximately $45,000 was raised for this wonderful organization. I was quite honored to be a part of it, even if it meant being a little chilly for a while. I hope to be able to take the big plunge again next year. If you are interested in plunging next year, start getting a fun team together and begin warming those feet!!

I want to wish you all Happy Holidays!! I hope you are enjoying this time with family and friends, relaxing, eating fabulous food, and staying warm!! :)

A visit to Omaha Chidren's Hospital

As some of you may know, the Miss America Organization recently joined forces with the Children's Miracle Network and CMN is now MAO's national platform. Thus, all of the contestants in the Miss America system are, in a sense, ambassadors for the network.

Brittany Jeffers, Miss Douglas County 2008, and I had a chance to go visit the Omaha Children's Hospital. There we met up with Alyssa, who is the CMN representative at Children's. She, as well as another staff member from the hospital, let Brittany and I make visits to many childrens' rooms and we sure had fun! Not only did we get to know many of the children staying at the hospital, we also got a chance to visit with their families, which was really encouraging. We signed autographs, took pictures, and more importantly, we got a chance to just sit down and talk with many of these amazing, courageous, and admirable children. It was truly the highlight of my Thanksgiving weekend.

Please keep the children (and families) working with CMN, and particularly those at Omaha's Children's Hospital, in your thoughts and prayers, especially during this holiday season. May we be continually reminded how valuable and precious life is, and continue to embrace each and every day! These brave children can truly be an inspiration to all of us and I can not wait until I get the exciting opportunity to go back up to Omaha and see them again!

Brittany and I with one of our new friends!

Heartland Latino Leadership Conference

On Friday, I got the opportunity to attend the Heartland Latino Leadership Conference as an exhibitor for the Nebraska Organ and Tissue Donation Coalition. What a great experience! I was so amazed at the spirit, energy, and excitement from those attending the conference. It was so encouraging to be around a group of people who are so eager to learn.

I got the opportunity to discuss organ donation with many people who stopped by our booth. I was able to share a little bit about why organ and tissue donation is important to me and I had the chance to answer many questions from curious attendees. These ranged from questions about the religious views on organ donation, to the process of a cornea transplant, to questions about how to sign up as a donor! It is always so uplifting to be a part of helping people learn about this truly amazing gift.

According to donatelife.net, there are many multicultural issues facing organ donation. On their website they state, "More than half of the national transplant waiting list is made up of multicultural populations. That's because some diseases of the kidney, heart, lung, pancreas and liver that are best treated through transplantation are found more frequently in these populations." They also state that "although it is possible for a candidate to match a donor from another racial or ethnic group, transplant success rates increase when organs are matched between members of the same ethnic background." Thus, it is very important for us to target multicultural populations in order to increase the donor registry so that more organs will be available for transplantation in these types of cases.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the Heartland Latino Leadership Conference and I hope that I will be able to go back next year and share about the Gift of Life with even more conference goers!