Community Service: The Heart of Pageantry

Today, I created crafts packages with a fellow (junior) pageant queen to be shipped to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.  St. Jude is one of my charities of choice because of the medical research and care they provide, regardless of whether or not a family can afford care for their child.  Founded by Danny Thomas, this wonderful institution allows children with serious illnesses and their families to focus on their health and well-being instead of worrying about funding the cost of life-saving care.  For me, to be able to contribute some measure of joy to the lives of the patients and families of St. Jude by taking their mind off the battle at hand, if for only a moment, to complete a crossword puzzle or color a picture is an absolute honor.  To be able to model behaviors illustrating the open-heartedness and very core of pageantry for a fellow queen, junior to myself, is one of things I love most about pageantry.