Miss South Carolina Pre-Teen Felicia McGill spends time at her local nursing home.

National American Miss South Carolina Pre-Teen Queen Felicia McGill spends time at her local nursing home.

South Carolina Pre-Teen Queen South Carolina Pre-Teen Queen1 Miss South Carolina Pre-Teen Felicia McGill spends time volunteering at her local nursing home. Felicia enjoys making a difference on the weekends at her town’s local nursing home, Morningside. She spends her time there preparing snacks for the residents, calling out the numbers for bingo and pushing them to the dining room for lunch. She doesn’t see it as volunteering, instead she sees her time at the nursing home as visiting with friends. She enjoys interacting with them and learning about their life experiences.

Miss Georgia Princess Samantha Wethel volunteers at local nursing home.

Samantha Wethel, National American Miss Georgia Princess Queen, went to Hammond House Assisted Living Home in North Augusta, to talk about Heart Health and Blood Pressure.

Samantha Wethel, Miss Georgia Princess, went to Hammond House Assisted Living Home in North Augusta, to talk about Heart Health and Blood Pressure. Samantha was there along with a pharmacist from Walgreens talk to the residence. Samantha ended the talk  with what she learned in school about having a healthy heart and gave each one the the residences Valentine Cards she hand made and bears. On Valentines Day she went to Westwood Nursing home and gave all the residences Valentine Cards and bears. She really enjoyed visiting with the residents.

Shivali Patel, North Carolina Jr. Teen Queen volunteers at the Methodist Home for Children.

Shivali Patel , the National American Miss North Carolina Junior Teen volunteers at the Methodist Home for Children (MHC). They were thrilled that Shivali wanted to support theirprogram in several different ways. She did her research about their needs and she made a commitment to raise money, raise awareness and contribute in-kind items to MHC. She is an awesome young lady!

Shivali Patel , the National American Miss North Carolina Junior Teen volunteers at the Methodist Home for Children (MHC). They were thrilled that Shivali wanted to support theirprogram in several different ways. She did her research about their needs and she made a commitment to raise money, raise awareness and contribute in-kind items to MHC. She is an awesome young lady!

Shivali’s first goal was to support MHC’s 1K for 1Kid program by raising money to support a child in care for one year. She started her project in July and hit the ground running! She not only surpassed her goal but helped raise nearly $2,000 to support two children in MHC’s care. Her commitment to get out in the community and ask for donations and gifts is amazing! Shivali has put in more than 120 hours, going door to door, business to business asking for support to reach her goal. She didn’t take no for an answer and received gifts from $1.00 to $100.00. They, MHC, were most impressed when she even got the Mayor in Raleigh, NC to support her efforts!

In addition to raising money for their ministry, she asked fellow contestants to collect stuffed animals for our underserved children at their preschool. Shivali delivered big garbage bags full of stuffed animals to the kids at the center one day. She also used extra funds raised to purchase hygiene items and school supplies for our older kids – something she felt passionate about since teens in foster care are often forgotten about.

Shivali has an incredible philanthropic spirit! Her enthusiasm for volunteering and follow through on her commitment is admirable! MHC is proud of her efforts and of the positive way she approached her service to MHC. There are few youth in the community who truly stand out like Shivali. Her determination and drive will serve her well in the future. Her outstanding volunteer service to Methodist Home for Children is greatly appreciated.

Shivali Patel, 2011 North Carolina Jr. Teen Queen, has been working with her project, Shivali’s 1K For 1Kid.

Much efforts and most of Shivali’s time has been donated recently to a wonderful & beautiful project called “Shivali’s 1K For 1Kid.” This project is for a kids home that extends support to neglected, abused, orphaned and such children at the “Methodist Home For Children (MHC)” all over the great state of NC.

Much efforts and most of Shivali’s time has been donated recently to a wonderful & beautiful project called “Shivali’s 1K For 1Kid.” This project is for a kids home that extends support to neglected, abused, orphaned and such children at the “Methodist Home For Children (MHC)” all over the great state of NC. “Shivali’s 1K For 1Kid,” goal was to raise $1000 so MHC can successfully tend to the needs of a single child for a complete year. Never in her dreams had Shivali thought that she would be able to achieve so much in merely four weeks. She has raised over $1,500 by selling ribbons and getting her school, community, and long distance friends & family to help her reach her goal. The money she has gathered will help MHC to clothe and feed children in their group homes, counsel families in crisis, find homes for children with our foster families, and serve children affected by substance abuse. She has also donated approximately five to six boxes of school supplies and 60 books & bears.

2010 National American Miss Tennessee Princess Queen Alajah Gilbert spends her time at a nursing home.

Alajah went to two nursing homes and participated in singing to the residents during their activity time. She sang 5 songs for the residents and assisted with bingo

Alajah went to two nursing homes and participated in singing to the residents during their activity time. She sang 5 songs for the residents and assisted with bingo, helping the residents find the number and place the chips on the numbers for the bingo games. The residents enjoyed her and she had a wonderful time performing for the elderly.

2009 South Carolina National American Miss Stephanie Hall Changing Lives

2009 South Carolina National American Miss Stephanie Hall Changing Lives

While I was at the national pageant I had the pleasure to speak with South Carolina’s Miss, Stephanie Hall.  She told me all about the events she has attending and appearances she has made.  Below is one special story that she wanted to share.

        Visiting the residents at Skylyn Place Retirement Home has been one of my favorite things to do as Miss SC. My first time visiting was a blast! I met many of the sweet residents, took lots of pictures with them, and got to know a little bit about each one of them. I sat down with some of them while they played games and watched television. I made lots of new friends!

        We had such a great time on my first visit I was invited to come back for their Christmas party a few weeks later! At the party I visited with some of my new friends, met all of the other residents, and even met some of their family members. Of course, we took lots of pictures, too! I was given the awesome opportunity of speaking to everyone there about myself and my platform, breast cancer awareness. Then we sang Christmas carols and chowed down on some yummy desserts. One lady challenged me to a dance-off to see if she could win my crown! But I told her I’d better not agree to that because she would probably win.

       Volunteering with this amazing group of people has been such a rewarding experience! I showed up at Skylyn Place with the intention of encouraging the people there, and they ended up encouraging me! So many of the residents do not ever have visitors, and I really enjoyed spending time with them. The staff is great, too, and I plan on going back very soon!