Birthday Blogger

My "Dream Halloween"

This week I am writing to you about a topic that may be far from the subject of turning 15, but it is still very dear to my heart. Many foundations focus on finding a cure for HIV and AIDS victims. I’m involved with one: the Children Affected by AIDS Foundation (CAAF). Children who are affected by the disease could have lost one or both parents to the illness, or they themselves could be infected.

CAAF puts together camps and retreats for them to have fun and be KIDS! CAAF also organizes a huge, high-profile charity event called "Dream Halloween"! On this exciting night, all of the children in the foundation in the Los Angeles area are invited with their families to the Barker Hanger at the Santa Monica Airport. It is a night filled with live performances, games, food — and that includes trick-or-treating! Everyone dresses up. I was a '20s flapper girl and my brother was a gangster from that era. We had an incredible time meeting all the children and their families.

As Honorary Chairperson for the Youth Committee, I thought that it would be a cool idea to do more than just lend my name to the foundation. So, I decided to start an awareness week at St. Monica Catholic High School, where my dad works. I told the students what CAAF is all about and held a fund-raiser — a raffle of two tickets to attend Dream Halloween with me. The fund-raiser was a huge success and a lot of the students offered to volunteer at the gala.

If you'd like to volunteer for one of their upcoming events, you can check out CAAF's Website.

I hope you all had a safe and fun HALLOWEEN! Stay tuned for my next blog post, when I'll talk about many details that I’m finalizing for my quinceañera.