Miss NY Send Off Fiesta, Glow Bowling, & Zumba for Rachel xoxo

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season filled with family, friends, & tons of laughs :-)
I have been keeping quite busy, which is why I am a little behind on my blogging, but on account of the blizzard, I am snowed in and given the perfect opportunity to catch up on some blogs!

MISS NY SEND OFF TO MISS AMERICA PARTY !

I will start with the beginning of December. On December 5th I attended a Send Off to Miss America party for the fabulous Miss NY, Claire Buffie, who will be competing for the title of Miss America on January 15th in Las Vegas. The party was hosted by Amanda Mason and her mother, held on the 36th floor of the breath taking Olivia in NYC. It was such a fantastic gathering, filled with all of Claire's family and friends, along with both former and current titleholders including Miss Brooklyn 2010, Mallory Hagan, Miss Richmond County 2010, Kimberly Cantoni and Miss Staten Island 2011, Maria DeSantis.

Claire shared with us a few inside scoop aspects of the competition, but most importantly she shared with us stories related to her platform "Straight for Equality, Lets Talk" http://missny2010.blogspot.com/. "As an outspoken advocate of human rights, Claire is opening the dialogue about equality amongst youth, teens and adults alike. The issues of gay rights make up the civil rights movement of our generation and reach far beyond marriage equality. She aims to break the stigma of marginalized youth, eliminating discriminatory vocabulary and changing the climate in New York schools." 

I wish her the very best of luck and know she will do amazing. I have had the privilege of being in her company several times over the past few months and can tell you that her poise, passion for what she does and her down to earth personality will make for a wonderful Miss America!



Miss NY Send Off to Miss America Fiesta !




Miss Staten Island 2011, Maria DeSantis :-)



Miss Richmond County 2010, Kimberly Cantoni <3

Titleholders past and present !



Miss Brooklyn 2010, Mallory Hagan <3


GLOW BOWLING

My next event was the following day December 6th, with my amazing students of Christa McAuliffe, I.S. 187. I have been the drama club choreographer at Christa McAuliffe for the past 4 years and have formed such a cherished bond with both the students and teachers. I myself am an alumni of the school, so when I was asked a few years ago to return as the drama club choreographer I was beyond thrilled. My students are my inspiration behind my platform. Teaching them has showed me just how important an arts education is, and how we need to value it in our schools and make it a priority. The arts not only allow students to have a creative outlet, but it gives students the opportunity to discover new talents that they never knew they possessed. I have seen first hand how the arts can increase confidence and joy in students, a joy that should not be taken away due to budget cuts.

The second inspiration for my platform came from my Aunt Josephine Schiavo, who is a STAGE 4 Sarcoma Survivor. It is because of her that I decided to fuse two things that I love in life and strongly believe in and turn it into a unique platform I call, "Performers With A Purpose, Bringing Sarcoma Awareness Center Stage."

The students of I.S. 187 have helped me tremendously to set my platform into full swing. Last year with the  help of the drama club, the Ben Bay Kiwanis Club, Mrs. Marino, Principal Berman and Mrs. Ferrier, we raised $1,000 for the Sarcoma Alliance (the charity that I am supporting). This year they were kind enough to help me again, and through a Glow Bowling event at Maple Lanes, raised another $500.00 for the Sarcoma Alliance. http://www.sarcomaalliance.org/main.shtml

I am so grateful to have all of these students in my life. The event was so much fun and it was a little funny actually, because it was the first time they had all seen me with my sash on, so I got a lot of questions thrown my way :-)

I truly love these kids. They are a huge part of my life and are so important to me. The feeling I get teaching them and seeing them shine on that stage and in life is a reward I simply cannot put into words <3

Some of my amazing students at I.S. 187 <333

Mrs. Ferrier <333 I don't know what I would do without her :-)

Mrs. Marino & Mrs. Ferrier <3

Natalie, a future STAR !!! Look out for her ladies and gents
because her talent will blow you away :-)

ZUMBA FOR RACHEL

Last but not least, I wanted to give an update on the January 23rd event! I blogged about it a month ago and now that I have all of the info I needed to share it with you :-)

On January 23, 2011 at Poly Prep Country Day School (Brooklyn, NY) @ 12:30 PM, ZUMBA FOR RACHEL WILL BE TAKING PLACE. This is going to be a wonderful event coordinated and hosted by the amazing Margaret Tapogna  in memory of her dear friend Rachel, who passed away a few months back from cancer. All proceeds will be going to St. Jude's Research Hospital in honor of Rachel, who was a constant supporter of the charity.

It promises to be a wonderful day filled with friends, family and of course ZUMBA, (but don't worry, you do not need to ZUMBA in order to come and have fun!!!) There will be refreshments, raffles and much more all for a small donation of $20.00.

I will be helping with the event and will even be assisting with the ZUMBA :-) I cannot wait !!!

For more details, questions or to volunteer to help please contact Margaret at
MissM58@hotmail.com or feel free to call 718-415-9576

PASS THE WORD ALONG, TRUST ME YOU ARE NOT GONNA WANT TO MISS IT !!!!

Well that's all for now, I must tell you about the COSMIC CHARITY CHALLENGE, but that will be the next blog, time for family game night lol :-)

xoxo
Christina :-)