Miss America Serves

Yesterday was Miss America Serves day; a day where all contestants, titleholders, and anyone involved in the Miss America Organization volunteered their time to help out our community. The Miss America Organization values service and as a queen for local, state, or even our nation, your duty is to serve your people by volunteering and helping out as much as possible.

As Miss Metro’s Outstanding Teen, I volunteered my time in Des Moines helping out at the Adam C Medina Banquet with my fellow sister queens. I started out my day by driving down to Des Moines to begin prepping for Miss Iowa by doing mock interviews, practicing my walk for fitness and evening wear, and getting all my paperwork done. I then headed down with my sister queens (Miss Metro Kelly Koch, Miss Greater Des Moines Serica Rowley, and Miss Greater Des Moines Outstanding Teen Sophia Agguire) to the Natural History Museum to volunteer at the Addam C Medina Foundation Benefit to honor Addam Media who passed away from a drunk driving accident. This foundation was created to let others know the danger of driving under the influence, but also proote youths to reach and achieve their dreams. We helped out at the each activity area, like hula hooping, making cranes, and even face painting! This event was not only a great volunteer experience; I also had a lot of fun at each activity.

Everyone involved in the Miss America Organization did something similar to my experience yesterday to celebrate the importance of serving others. Whether it is cleaning up litter from a park, volunteering at a non-profit organization, or just donating items to the Salvation Army, volunteerism was happening all around the nation. If you #missamericaserves on any social media website, you will see so many pictures, posts, and videos of Miss America girls volunteering at different events.

It still boggles my mind that people still stereotype pageant girls as catty, dramatic, and act like the girls from toddlers and tiaras when there’s a day the Miss America Organization dedicated to serving others. The Miss America system is known as a pageant, yet I believe it’s a way for women to grow and become well-rounded, successful people in our community. As a Miss America contestant we are learning how to connect with others, be skilled in something we are passionate about, be poised and confident onstage, and learn the importance of volunteering. I am so grateful to be a part of an organization that teaches me such important life skills. Happy Miss America Serves everyone!