Miracle on Ks. Ave. Parade

On November 28th Lauren Sage invited her little friend Grace to ride with her in the Miracle on Kansas Avenue Parade in Topeka Kansas. Grace has a disorder called: Mesangioproliferative Glomerulonephritis. It developed from Henoch Schonlein this past spring. In order to treat this disorder Grace must be on steroids and other medications and has been traveling to St. Louis to see specialists there. To learn more about this disorder along with the signs and symptoms visit the National Kidney Foundation or go to www.nephcure.org Grace is an amazingly sweet little girl and is one of Laurens special friends. Just a reminder to all of us this Christmas season, how blessed we are to have good health and how important it is to think of others as we go about our lives and the hustle and bustle of the season! Please take the time to check out the website and learn more. In her sponsor car, decked out in snowflakes and lights the girls waved to a huge crowd and listened to Christmas music. It was a beautiful night and a wonderful parade! Even Santa and Mrs. Claus were there. Thanks to Grace and her Mom Ann for driving all the way to Topeka.What a fun way to kick off the holiday season!

Pilgrim Pacer Run

Saturday November 14th, The Pilgrim Pacer run to benefit Harvesters of Kansas City along with a special honor at the run for Braden Hofen battling Neuroblastoma Cancer. Held in beautiful Shawnee Mission Park in the gorgeous fall setting! Lauren Sage showed up to paint faces dawning her Bradens Army T-Shirt. Braden is a close family friend, a sweet, sweet little boy who has spent the last year of his life battling cancer. He is such a brave boy and a hero to all who know him and many who don't. Bradens Mom and his brother Zach were at the race telling Bradens story. Zach, just a first grader ran the 5K! (He received a medalion at the end of the race and is under the impression that surely that meant he had won! So cute!)Harvesters is a community response to hunger. By providing food they give sustenance and hope to those in need. They also work toward long term solutions through nutrition, education, hunger awareness and advocacy. Although the day was kind of drizzly, lots of folks turned out to participate in the 5K, 10K and half Marathon Run! An organization called "Girls on the Run" also participated in the run. Young girls starting in 3rd grade participate in this organization accross the country. Giving girls a place to learn about and experience running, being part of a team and of course building friendships. Lauren Sage got to paint many of their faces. The race was a huge success!

March of Dimes Chef Auction

November 8th was the 19th annual March of Dimes Chef Auction in Wichita Kansas. Lauren Sage and several other pageant girls were at the event volunteering. The Mission of the March of dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, infant mortality and premature birth through community services, advocacy, research and education. As a premature baby herself, Lauren Sage was honored to help with such an important event. She spent most of the evening talking to people who attended the event, asking them to purchase a March of Dimes bracelet that would allow them to participate in one of the evenings activities. Along with some of her friends they were able to sell over 150 bracelets and collect a significant amount for the event. She also enjoyed the wonderful food from 15 of Wichitas chefs! She participated in another fundraising event of the evening "Digging for Diamonds", although she ended up with only a "CZ" she loves it! What a wonderful evening spent raising funds for the March of Dimes.

Miss America visits Kansas

On November 2nd, Katie Stam Miss America 2009 came to Wichita Kansas for a lecture series hosted by Delta Gamma of WSU. Lauren Sage was asked to be a special guest. She was introduced by Brett harris of B98 FM and signed autographs along with Miss Ks. America -Becki Ronen & Miss Ks. Outstanding Teen -Chelsea Chilcott & Miss America Katie Stam following the event. What an honor!!! Lauren Sage and some of her good friends Kendra Leet and Caitlyn Webb traveled to Wichita on Monday to attend the event. There were so many other pageant friends in attendance that evening. Miss America gave a wonderful speech about the importance of community service and giving back. This is a reflection of her platform for the year and of course spoke straight to Lauren Sages heart. After the event Lauren Sage and her friends were invited to attend a private reception for Miss America at the Delta Gamma house. Thanks so much to Lauren Werhan for the invitation to be a part of this incredible night!

Alex Lemonade Stand on Halloween

Lauren Sage and her good friends Faith Tyrell and Katie Kralicek ran an Alex Lemonade Stand on Halloween! Serving Hot Chocolate instead of Lemonade! The stand was in honor of Braden Hofen who is currently in Philidelphia receiving treatment for cancer. Bradens cancer came back in August after a year of surgery, treatment and transplant. Braden has a group of folks all accross the country called Bradens Army and we were so glad to see some of them at the stand last night. The stand was a huge success! They passed out candy and treats to the trick or treaters and served up steaming starbucks hot chocolate to kids and parents who wanted to donate to the cause. A great big thank you to Debbie Tyrell for all of her help with the stand! I think this will be an annual event at the Browning house!