Lauren's 123 Campaign!

I joined ELITE23 my freshman year, and have not regretted it since. ELITE23 is a 501 (c)(3) non for profit organization that focuses on inner-beauty, empowerment, and self-love.  As a group we uplift women and young girls based on the principles of academic excellence, community involvement, and higher level thinking. We prioritize it to ignite passion and positive impacts on the lives of many.

Our biggest event of the year is the Little Miss Elite Pageant. We provide the opportunity for girls at the Boys & Girls Club in Columbia, Missouri to have an experience to build confidence and believe in themselves. This is the fifth year and we are trying to go bigger than ever for these little girls. This pageant gives the girls the opportunity to have their biggest dreams come alive on stage! This year we are trying to gift the girls with a learning experience in Chicago, Illinois during their photo-shoot. Also, we try to find special judges for this event, in the past we've even had Miss USA.

Personally throughout my experience, my pageant daughter wanted to do gymnastics and sing for her talent. We were able to make it happen, we bought a trampoline to go on stage with other props. In the background she had a video playing of her in the gymnastic arena displaying how she did not give up on the swinging poles when she kept failing. It was amazing to see how far she has grown in her confidence and how much she enjoyed being on that stage showing the audience how hard she has worked for this. She also had to memorize a introduction speech and be able to answer questions that the judges asked. Also, my daughter won second runner up!

I want to thank you for any donation you provide, whether it is $5 or more. This experience is life changing.  Also, at the end, all of the girls receive crowns and gifts, but the top three winners win a scholarship for the future towards any college they would like to attend.