Miss America Serves
Linwood, NJ - On Saturday, April 18,
Miss America 2015 Kira Kazantsev along with Miss America state titleholders
from across the country will be called upon to participate in "Miss
America Serves" - a national day of volunteer service presented by
Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. This combined effort will raise
funds for member hospitals while addressing the unique needs of
communities across the nation.
Last September in Atlantic City, NJ, our 53 contestants led
by Mary Haskell volunteered at the Atlantic City Rescue Mission, working the
prep and service lines in the kitchen, meeting with mothers and children living
at the Family Life Center, and assisting with the replenishment of the food
pantry. This event was the inspiration to create a national effort for each
state representative to show their spirit of commitment and community service
in their home state.
Miss America Serves will bring together Miss America
contestants and volunteers from our state organizations to create service
events that address critical needs in their communities. A few of the
activities confirmed thus far include volunteering at local Children's Miracle
Network Hospitals; cleaning up parks, beaches and neighborhoods; assisting
youth and senior organizations; visiting nursing homes; collecting clothes;
stocking food pantries and feeding the homeless. These are only a few of the
many activities planned on this special day to salute volunteerism and
community service across the country.
Miss America 2015 Kira Kazantsev stated "The 'Miss
America Serves' event will bring together contestants, families and friends to
serve their communities. The Miss America Organization has a long history of
service, a cornerstone of our program. This national day of service will bring
much needed attention to our national platform partner, Children's Miracle
Network Hospitals while raising funds for the charity and for our scholarship program."
Sam Haskell, Miss America Organization's Chairman
added, "We hope to continue giving our young women the
opportunity to create a legacy of service by participating in this special
event to show our organization's commitment to volunteerism and inspire others
to find ways to seek out service in their own communities."
As a tribute to the service local Children's Miracle Network
Hospitals provide every day, state titleholders will rally their friends,
families and communities to participate on April 18. Donations will have a
direct impact on the area where each event is held, benefiting local kids
treated at the member hospital serving that community.
Since 2007, Children's Miracle Network Hospitals has been
the official national platform of the Miss America Organization. More than $11
million has been raised for both the Miss America Scholarship Program and
Children's Miracle Network Hospitals to help create awareness for 170 member
hospitals that treat 10 million kids each year across the U.S. and Canada. To
participate and for more information, visit www.MissAmericaServes.org
Join the #MissAmericaServes conversation
on Facebook.com/MissAmerica,
Twitter@MissAmerica and @MissAmericaOrg,
Instagram missamericaorg,
andYouTube.com/MissAmericaOrg.
About Children's Miracle Network Hospitals
Children's Miracle Network Hospitals® raises funds and
awareness for 170 member hospitals that provide 32 million treatments each year
to kids across the U.S. and Canada. Donations stay local to fund critical
treatments and healthcare services, pediatric medical equipment and charitable
care. Since 1983, Children's Miracle Network Hospitals has raised more than $5
billion, most of it $1 at a time through the charity's Miracle Balloon icon.
Its various fundraising partners and programs support the nonprofit's mission
to save and improve the lives of as many children as possible. Find out why
children's hospitals need community support, identify your member hospital and
learn how you can Put Your Money Where the Miracles Are, at CMNHospitals.organd facebook.com/CMNHospitals.
YMCA Make a Splash
Miss Nampa, Audrey Powell, spent March 23rd through the 27th at YMCA Make a Splash. "I spent several hours teaching kids how to swim each morning! The kids ranged from 4-14 and were able to take part in the lessons due to a discounted rate. I appreciated having the privilege to teach kids to swim who otherwise would not have been able to take swimming lessons."
When asked what her best memory was she said, "I taught Jana (one of the cutest and sweetest 6 year olds on the planet) how to swim! On the first day she cried because she was so nervous to blow her bubbles but by the end of the week, she swam 15 yards by herself. This is exactly what my platform is all about."
Audrey walked away with 38 new friends. She loves teaching a lifelong skill. She also wants to remind parents to sign their kids up for lessons at a local pool! You can’t start lessons too soon and it’s never too late!
Third Season of Dancing Queens Launch
Miss Southwestern Idaho, Megan Wilson, is launching her third season of Dancing Queens on April 1st. She said, " Dancing Queens is a self-awareness program for preteen girls where Megan discusses topics like self-esteem, peer pressure, personal wellness, and goal setting while teaching the art of Polynesian dance. This season is held at the Boys and Girls Club of Ada County. The girls will perform at the B&G Club Parent Night later in April." Megan's favorite part about the program is getting to meet the girls she will be mentoring for the next month. Some will be girls she coached in Girls on the Run last fall.
"I have a personal connection to my platform, At-Risk Prevention: Helping Girls Reach Their Full Potential. Dancing Queens is all about helping girls go into their teen years with a toolkit to avoid risky activities that could hinder their future success."
Miss Amazing
Miss Boise spent Saturday volunteering for another pageant program, "I was lucky enough to spend my Saturday afternoon working with the incredible Idaho Miss Amazing contestants! I got to help them with walking patterns for competition and prep the girls before their interviews. As fun as it was for me to get to spend time with the contestants, and get to know them a little better, I didn't have to do a lot of teaching. These girls were already pageant pros! I was the one that picked up a few tips from THEM to help me on my way to Miss Idaho!"
Miss Boise and STEM
One of my favorite hats (crowns?) that Miss America wears is her position as an advocate for women in STEM education. As a girl who grew up loving the arts, and eventually graduating with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism, I might not seem like the obvious choice as an ambassador for science, technology, engineering, and math. But, as fate would have it, a recent shift in my career path has stuck me smack dab in the middle of a male-dominated STEM-based work field. Starting as a new weather forecaster was daunting enough, but when I learned I was the only full time female weather anchor in the Boise television market, I was downright intimidated! Catching up on the science behind the forecasts I put together every day was an uphill battle, and it made me wish I had a strong female role model growing up that would have encouraged me to dig a little deeper into the STEM career fields, I just might have found my love for weather a little sooner.
I recently partnered with Mathnasium, a math only learning center that tutors students of all ages in ways that make sense to them and learned what a wonderful place it was to foster budding STEM fanatics like myself! I was lucky enough to attend the ribbon cutting of their new location in Boise this past week and take a tour of the incredible Micron 60’ STEM Mobile Discovery Lab with some of their students. It was such a fun afternoon of learning and laughing! I am so humbled and grateful to be a part of the push to get more girls involved in STEM careers, because equal treatment and pay in the workplace begins with equal education and training. I think President Obama said it best in his address at Boise State University in January, “When we've got everybody on the field, that’s when you win games. I mean, think about if we had as many young girls focused and aspiring to be scientists and astronauts and engineers. That’s a whole slew of talent that we want to make sure is on the field.” I am looking forward to using the scholarship money I earn through my year of service as Miss Boise to pay for the meteorology certification program that I start this fall, and continue to be a proud advocate for STEM education and female scientists everywhere!