Chicago Here I Come! (Day 1)

Today was, hands down, one of the most eventful, fun, and exciting days of travel I have ever experienced. Our day started at 6 am, when we all hauled our 10 pieces of luggage to LAX. Mom, Papa, Kara and I spent the morning in the Admiral's Club chowing on delicious muffins and bagels. Our flight was canceled due to maintenance issues. After about an hour we were booked on another flight and we were off! After boarding

the plane I was pleasantly surprised to be called to the cockpit to meet the Captain. He asked to take a picture with me and wear my sash and crown. Once we landed in Chicago my Papa took a nasty fall in the airport. He just had back surgery so after a call to his surgeon, we were told to go straight to the emergency room, do not pass "GO", do not collect $200. Circumstances put aside, we had a blast in the hospital with the patients, nurses and doctors. By midnight Papa was given the thumbs up to be released and we were on our way to Skokie.

We were dead tired but our adventure was not quite over. With very empty bellies we searched relentlessly for a food establishment and were so grateful when the neon pizza signs glowed our way. Kara and I spent a good 30+ minutes rehearsing in the middle of the pizza parlor while our pizza was in the oven. What an eventful first day, can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

$10,000 donation to Luggage of Love from the Scott Foundation

I want to thank the Scott family for your generous donation of $10,000 to Luggage of Love. I am beyond words with your generosity, love, and support. So many children will benefit from your donation and it is people like yourselves who truly are making a difference in the lives of our foster youth. Simply put I am speechless.

Make-A-Wish grant of luggage for Tori's trip to Paris

Today I met the most inspirational young lady. Tori Sather is living with brain cancer. At an early age Tori found herself having mood swings and tripping all the time for no reason. Since the age of 5 her brain tumor had went undiagnosed until she was in her teens. Finally they found the culprit of all of Tori's troubles...a tumor the size of a softball. At the age of 15 Tori underwent surgery to remove the tumor. During the surgery, the left side of Tori's body became paralyzed. Since then, she has spent

countless months recovering in the hospital. She never gave up on her fight to gain feeling and mobility on that side of her body. Today she is mobile and continues to fight on. I am so inspired by Tori and all that she has gone through. She is a beautiful and strong person with a heart of gold. I adore you and your outlook on life. I hope you have the most amazing time in Paris and that you and your mother enjoy your luggage.

A pallet of luggage packed with love from Girl Scout Troop #60477

A HUGE thank you goes to Girl Scout Troop #60477 for stopping the Luggage of Love office to help ship out a pallet. You ladies were great worker bees and I had a blast watching you palletize this shipment from start to finish. From decorating the luggage tags, putting them

on the luggage, separating the luggage, stacking it on the pallet, and shrink wrapping it...YOU DID AMAZING! The children at the shelter will love getting luggage wrapped with care from you. I've loved getting to know each and every one of you and please come back to help and visit anytime!

Meadowlarks Award Luncheon

The Meadowlark Service League ("MSL") is a non-profit organization of women dedicated to raising funds for a variety of local charitable organizations and programs. They have given over $2,500,000 to worthy organizations since their inception in 1971. This year was their 40 year anniversary, and they awarded $233,000 to deserving, non profit organizations and scholarships to local graduating high school seniors and continuing college students. One of the conditions of the grants is that all recipients must be located in Ventura County and the money must be spent in Ventura County. I am honored that the Meadowlarks once again included Luggage of Love as one of their recipients this year. Thank you to all of the ladies who work countless hours to raise these funds, it is greatly appreciated and I am humbled beyond words. Your grant money will help the many children in transition in Ventura County so they do not have to put their personal belongings into trash bags.

Soroptimist International Ruby Award

Soroptimist International of Camarillo is a member of an International organization that improves the lives of women and girls in local communities and throughout the world. This morning I was honored as this

years recipient of their Ruby Award for my efforts with Luggage of Love. Honorees of this award are women who have worked in extraordinary ways to benefit women and girls. I am blessed to have been

chosen for such a distinguished award. Thank you to all the ladies in the organization, I enjoyed the lovely breakfast with each and everyone of you and I thank you for your continued support of my organization.

Buena High School Speaking Engagement

Buena High School has a specially designed class for students who were "at-risk", and have now changed turned it around and improved their grades, and more importantly... their lives. This class often has outside speakers come and share their story of overcoming adversity and making the best possible lives for themselves, despite who they were or where they come from. I was asked to share my story of being a former homeless, shelter, and foster youth; the challenges I faced and the struggles I continue to battle. This group of young men and women all had similar stories so we were able to relate to one another on a deeper level. I hope that my story made a difference in their lives. Thank you Buena High School for having me and I am honored that you have asked me to return to speak again.

Talk of the Desert

Today my adventures as Miss California International 2012 lead me to the City of Palm Dessert to film a segment on the show "Talk of the Desert." I was interviewed by the host and executive producer of the show, Melinda Read, who also

happens to be Mrs. California International 1996. It has been 2 years since I was last on the show as Miss Teen California International 2010 and I quickly brought Melinda up to date with what I have been doing the past two years. I shared my

perspectives on my early childhood and what it has been like growing up since being adopted. We also discussed how I now use the tragedy of my past as a positive influence to do good things like starting Luggage of Love, speaking to

youth in the system, bringing awareness to the huge population of foster and shelter children who just need a chance. I also talked about of getting involved with other organizations to make a difference in our communities. I explained the importance of the International Pageant System in the success of my endeavors with Luggage of Love. During the interview Melinda surprised me on set with a new 3 piece set of luggage. The entire crew was beyond nice and I had a wonderful time. Thank you Melinda for once again having me on your show. And thank you to the Time Warner Cable studios for your warm welcome, my visit was amazing.

Thousand Oaks Girl Scout Troop

Girl Scouts...girls changing the world one community at a time. These young ladies aspire to be someone, to do more with their lives within their community. This in itself is so heartwarming. After introducing myself I shared with the group why I founded Luggage of Love and why it is so important to me. To my surprise at the end of the meeting each girl generously donated some very cute pieces of luggage to the shelter and foster children in our community. I had a great time meeting with the Thousand Oaks Girl Scouts, sharing my story and decorating luggage tags. I look forward to your trip out to the Luggage of Love office to pack a pallet of luggage for shipment.

Speaking to Triton Academy

Today I spoke to Triton Academy. This speaking engagement was somewhat unique in that we started off the with each student telling me about who they are, what struggles they face with autism and how they persevere. I was beyond surprised to find that the "issues' that these youth face due to their autism are exactly the same as the issues that I face due to my background of abuse and due to me being a drug baby. Not only did we share that, but our coping techniques were the same as well. The teachers also took the students to the store before our arrival, where they let the kids pick out our meal for lunch. With the food, the students prepared a salad bar and strawberry shortcake for me. The entire morning and afternoon I laughed and had more fun than I have in a long time....these students taught me so much more today that I could have ever taught them. Thank you so much to Lisa Davis for contacting me to speak today, I can not wait to have you all visit Luggage of Love and pack a pallet for shipment!

Advokids Casino de Paris Fundraiser / Fort Mason San Francisco California

I was honored to be invited as a celebrity guest at the Advokids Casino de Paris Fundraiser at the General’s Residence at Fort Mason in San Francisco this past Saturday. The event was a huge success and I met some incredible people who all dedicate their lives to helping children in the foster care system and their advocates. Danny Glover attended as the Honarary Chairman of the event and the special guests were two foster parents, Kelli and Terry Sedgewick, who fought to keep custody of their two year old foster child. The couple begged the courts, the social worker, they wrote letters not to return the child to the birth parents but the courts denied their wishes and ruled exactly the opposite. Once the precious little girl was reunified with her parents it was only a matter of time before she was killed. Had Advokids been introduced to the couple sooner, their little girl could have been saved by the legal advice they could have used during the court proceedings. I highly encourage any foster parents seeking legal guidance to call Advokids at 877-ADV4KID or visit their website link below:
www.Advokids.org





Advokids is the only non-profit legal advocacy organization in California dedicated solely to securing the safety and well-being of infants and children in the foster care system. Advokids’ legal services facilitate critical intervention on behalf of our youngest children in foster care because the system too often fails to meet the critical emotional and developmental needs of infants and toddlers. The early years of life set the stage for all that follows, holding the greatest danger for long-term damage and the greatest potential for successful intervention. When infants and toddlers are placed in care, they have the most to lose.

League of Creative Minds / Junior High & High School Delegates / Burlingame, California

The League of Creative Minds was created to provide an entry way for all middle school and high school students into public policy, international world affairs, leadership roles, public advocacy, diplomacy, investigative journalism, and the inner workings of governments, international organizations, and the United Nations. The delegates who are a part of the program are in the top 1% of the top 3% in the school system. I was humbled beyond words when I was invited to share my story with the youth of this program. Even more so, I was blown away by the intellect of each individual in the room. It was apparent to me by the questions they asked and the points and opinions they express that these young adults are going somewhere. The League of Creative Minds seeks to raise awareness amongst students about issues of broad influence that currently affect the peoples of the world, and about their cultures and distinctions. It is rare to find a group of students that have clear and direct knowledge of the social service system, unless the youth I am speaking with are a part of the system itself. Having such a young, knowledgeable audience was refreshing and enjoyable. I am quite impressed with all of the students who partake in this program, and intrigued that they showed interest in the social service system that is so flawed. I know one day many of these delegates will be in positions that will make a difference in the world, and I hope that my words touched them enough to change the system which is in a sense a revolving door. I hope that they may never forget to lend a helping hand to those children in need. Thank you Catarina Williams and Simon Olavarria for this opportunity. It was a true pleasure and an honor to have met both of you.

Click on the link below to visit their website:
League of Creative Minds