Wendi Russo (Mrs. Eden Prairie 2007)

Hi! I'm Wendi Russo and I am so excited to begin my journey in the Mrs. Minnesota Pageant as Mrs. Eden Prairie! I love Eden Prairie and especially my neighborhood because it's the perfect place to raise children. My neighborhood is filled with families with young children and dogs, which we love. My husband and I have an outgoing and talkative 2-year-old daughter, Chloe, 2 pomeranians, Dolce & Minnie and a white persian cat, Joey--so we have a very active household!

I'm an on air host at Shop NBC and am on during the wee hours in the morning so if you are awake in the middle of the night, check out Shop NBC channel--you might see me. I sell everything from jewelry and fashion to cosmetics and furniture! Nothing is scripted on our show, so it is all me out there talking for up to three hours straight about our gorgeous jewelry! My favorite things to sell are diamond jewelry, purses and makeup. And no, I don't get to sleep very much during the week! I love what I do and was recently appointed to represent Eden Prairie in the Biltmore Who's Who Among Executives and Professional Women.

My platform is "Become a Mentor: Make a difference in a child's future". When I lived in L.A. years ago, I decided to reach out and touch a life of a young girl, Daisy, who ended up teaching me more than I expected! She was the type of 11-year-old who would ask me if she could give a homeless man on the corner her doggie bag, as we were leaving a restaurant! She did not have a father figure in her house, as is the case with many children waiting for caring adults to become mentors. Today she wants to teach children with autism. Currently I'm a mentor to a 6-year- old burst of light, Tytianna through Kinship Organization, that pairs children ages 5-15 with families or individuals. I see her on a weekly basis and today she told me that seeing me is one of her favorite things to do. Denzel Washington just wrote a book about the importance of mentors in his and other major public figures' lives which is a testament to the fact that mentors DO make a difference in children's lives. Studies show that mentoring reduces drug abuse by 46% and school drop outs by 52%. As an Ambassador to Kinship Organization, and through the Mrs. Minnesota program, I hope to encourage more people to offer their time & friendship to one of the over 150 children waiting for mentors locally, through Kinship.