Mrs. California International, Lauren Weeks, 32, of Hemet, Calif. was crowned Mrs. International 2018, Saturday, July 21 at the Annual Mrs. International Pageant held in Charleston, W.Va.  The three-hour event took place at the Cultural Center, featuring 60 contestants from around the world competing in three categories, including interview, fitness-wear, and evening gown. Weeks was joined on stage by her husband, Ian Weeks, for her crowning before a sold-out audience.
The International Pageants system promotes community service with half of each contestant’s competition score based on knowledge of and work with her platform.  During her reign, Weeks will promote Together We Rise (www.togetherwerise.org), an organization that provides bare essentials and other programs and services to children in the foster care system.  Weeks has served the organization for eight years, during which she has raised money to replace the trash bags children are given to transport their items to a foster home with new duffle bags—also known as “Sweet Cases” – filled with essential items, as well as teddy bears, and coloring books and crayons.  To date, she has raised money to purchase and donate more than 1,000 duffle bags to Southern California-area foster programs.
“My cousin was briefly in the foster care system before she was adopted by my Aunt and I witnessed how much joy they brought to each other,” said Weeks. “Since then, I’ve been dedicated to making a difference in the lives of other children in the foster care system. As Mrs. International, I hope to provide donations to children in other countries and double Together We Rise’s ‘Sweet Cases’ donations in 2018.”
Weeks is the mother of two young boys and enjoys family time hiking, fishing and camping.  She has a B.A. degree in Business Communications and owns an entertainment business, as well as continuing to pursue a singing and theater acting career.
The Mrs. International Pageant is the only platform- based system and is owned and operated by International Pageants, Inc., which also operates the Miss, Miss Teen and Miss Pre Teen International competitions.  Mrs. International showcases married women 21 to 56-years-old and includes their husbands as an integral part of the program. For more information visit www.mrsinternational.com.
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