Sunday, May 4, 2014

Going the Distance for Maria Fareri Children's Hospital!

One of my favorite parts of being a Miss America local titleholder is the wonderful relationship the Organization has with the Children's Miracle Network. My local CMN hospital is Maria Fareri Children's Hospital in Valhalla, New York. Maria Fareri serves Westchester County, but also has patients come from Rockland, Orange, and Fairfield County to receive excellent care! Today, the community gathered to celebrate the 10th birthday of the hospital at the annual Go the Distance Walk and Family Fun Day held on the hospital grounds.

Singing Happy Birthday to Maria Fareri Children's Hospital!

Today, I joined forces once again with Mayra Avila, Miss Westchester 2014. Together, we signed up to walk with The Dreamster's Dreamers, the team of 2014 Go the Distance Grant Marshal Dream. Dream is a 4th grader from Ossining, NY. She has sickle cell disease, but has not let her health challenges slow her down! She is a singer, Girl Scout, and master hula-hooper. With the support of her incredible family (seriously, they are such a lovely group!) and the care she receives at Maria Fareri, she is ready to take the world by storm one bright smile at a time!

With the Dreamster and her friends! They came decked out in pink, Dream's favorite color!

Before the race kicked off, many of the past Go the Distance Grant Marshals joined Dream on stage. They all came to Maria Fareri for different reasons: open heart surgery, orthopedic injury, brain surgery, liver transplants, and more. But they all have something in common today: they are thriving and a shining example of resilience. In honor of them, and all of the other children who have been cared for at Maria Fareri, over $275,000 was raised to support the hospital at today's event!

Some of the past Grand Marshals, ready to kick off the race!

It was a really great morning! Dream and her Dreamsters led the way on a one mile walk, and once the teams crossed the finish line, it was time to make new friends, try some delicious treats, and have some fun!

Dream's team, ready to kick off the walk!

Dream and her friends were the first to cross the finish line!

Cold hands, but warm hearts--Mayra and I were so chilly that we purchased matching Go the Distance hoodies!

Taking on a new role as Miss Empire Star Wars...May the "4th" be with you!

For more pictures, check out my Facebook page



No comments:

Post a Comment

 
site design by designer blogs