High school students stage Miss Charity, for charity

Mt. Hope students recruit their peers to strut and perform on stage

By Emily Kamens
Posted 12/14/17

Mt. Hope High School students Madison Rodriques and Sloan Simpson organized and produced the school’s first-ever Miss Charity pageant, which raised more than $1,900 last week. Even more …

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High school students stage Miss Charity, for charity

Mt. Hope students recruit their peers to strut and perform on stage

Posted

Mt. Hope High School students Madison Rodriques and Sloan Simpson organized and produced the school’s first-ever Miss Charity pageant, which raised more than $1,900 last week. Even more remarkable than getting 19 young ladies to perform on stage in front of peers, teachers and parents, they conceived of and executed the whole thing in just one month’s time.

When they got started in November, the event was originally planned to be a toy drive in which all donated toys would go to Hasbro Children’s Hospital. Ms. Rodriques and Mr. Simpson collaborated with principal and advisor, Dr. Deborah Dibiase, who helped them to kickstart an even larger event than they had planned.

“We wanted to get more involved in the community and give back, especially to families in need around the holidays,” Mr. Simpson said.

Miss Charity consisted of a talent show, question & answer and beauty portion for the pageant. Mt. Hope alumni and some faculty participated as judges, and each of the 19 female contestants were rated on how they conducted and presented themselves on stage.

These ladies dressed in marvelous evening gowns with full hair and make-up done, to strut across the stage and show the judges what they’ve got. They were then asked to answer a variety of holiday themed questions and perform their greatest talent.

From singing to lip syncing, dancing and drawing, the talents ran the gamut.

Contestant Kaelen McKenna, dressed in a duck costume made from a butter-yellow shirt and visor that comprised large felt fabric eyes, with an orange feathered boa, peformed a series of duck jokes. Contestant Brittany Bisbano drew a snowman dressed in a scarf and top hat with holly berries to accessorize. Others sang holiday songs, danced to hip-hop songs, or danced in choreographed numbers.

Each of the contestants gave a performance that the audience adored. At the end of the evening, Mackenzie Boucher stood out above the rest, earning here the title of Miss Charity.

Collaborators on the project were fellow classmates in the DECA program (which prepares students for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management), staff advisors, and many sponsors.

“Sloan and I had been friends for a while, but really just got together and said, ‘Hey, let’s give back to our community on a higher level, let’s do something for the kids at Hasbro’” and that is how this evolved,” Ms. Rodriques said. 

All proceeds from ticket sales and admission, the donations from sponsors and local businesses, and a $100 gift receipt to Toys R Us, were donated in full to Hasbro Children’s Hospital.

“It was just a really good experience. It was definitely a really good life lesson, and it was awesome to see the community come together and give back to such a great cause and people in need. It definitely will be a great lesson moving forward in life, and I hope to do it again in the future,” Mr. Simpson said.

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