12 Cents... My biggest Donation

So the weekend started on Friday when I spent the day at the Arnot Ogden Hospital volunteering with CMN. I put my stalker skills to good use by looking up phone numbers for possible donors on the Internet! The next day my mom and I traveled out to Watertown to A Touch of Grace... I got my evening gown for Miss NY!!! This day was doubly special because I got to spend it with my pageant loves, Corri Dartnell and Kristen Lettire. Kathy Lettire, Kristen's mom and owner of A Touch of Grace, really has an eye for dresses. She told me a week before I arrived which dress I would be taking home and sure enough... I walked out of the store with it!

On Sunday, Desiree Miller, Miss Teen Finger Lakes 2010, and I bundled up to collect donations for the Children's Miracle Network outside of Wal Mart. Now when I say bundled... I mean it. I had 3 pairs of socks, two pairs of pants, 5 shirts, two scarves, two pairs of gloves, a long wool coat, winter boots, a blanket, and of course.. a crown on! We were outside from 9-4 and it was freezing, but well worth it!! At the end of the day, we raised $260 for CMN!

Desiree Miller, Miss Teen Finger Lakes, and I collecting donations outside of Walmart

So I am sure you are wondering... how did they raise that much money if 12 cents was their biggest donation!?! . Two women in their mid-forties were walking out of the store when I asked them if they wanted to donate to the CMN. They said no and proceeded to walk away. The women were accompanied by a boy that was no more than 5 years old. He turned to me, pulled 12 cents out of his pocket (everything that was in there), and proceeded to put the change into my bin. He then looked at his mother and said "I helped children mom!". Okay so in all actuality, this was probably the smallest donation in size, but it was the one with the biggest heart. That little boy alone made sitting outside all day in the cold absolutely worth it. :)

With Isaiah, who was born prematurely, weighing only two pounds. He is now ready to live a healthy life because of the help he received from the Children's Miracle Network!!

** Photos taken by Paul Smith, my brother-in-law :)**