Page 39 - Tennessee Teen Volunteer Judge's Book 2022

What can you do during your Tenure of Service as a Titleholder to impact your community?
I will continue to lead with enthusiasm and compassion so that I can achieve my goals and help give back to my community. I am motivated and determined to not only achieve the goals I have set for my efforts but to create new aspirations as my network continues to grow. I plan to proceed with being involved in my community by holding mobile food pantries, assisting food drives for local schools, and raising awareness throughout the communities of our great state.
What has been your involvement with your platform?
I work alongside the Second Harvest Food Bank and schools to promote hunger awareness in our communities. By holding mobile food pantries, food drives, and assisting with the Backpack Ministries in my community, I have been able to serve over 3,000 meals to families! Also, with the help of local friends and family, I had the opportunity to organize my very own drive: “Be Sweet, Give a Treat!” I collected over 350 boxes of treats for kids to go home with an extra treat in their backpacks! With this, I plan to continue to lead as an example and promote this hunger crisis in our communities throughout the state of Tennessee.
What inspired you to first become involved in your platform?
The issue of hunger does not discriminate and has no boundaries. It does not matter if you live in a suburban, rural, or urban setting: hunger lives in our communities. I have seen firsthand of the effects of food insecurity with my classmates and community. When I first helped assist at a mobile food pantry at my church, I noticed many familiar faces from my school and small city, but these people were those that you would have never thought were struggling to provide nutritional food for themselves and their families. After seeing this struggle, I rapidly made the decision to dedicate my time to learn and rise to the challenge to this crisis that affects our communities. By researching on this issue, I learned that the state of Tennessee ranks as the 4th highest state that struggles financially, and Gibson County, where I reside, has one of the highest food insecurity rates with 17.9% in Tennessee itself. Therefore, I quickly became part of the solution!
If you are selected as the winner, how would you mobilize and market your platform nationally?
As a representative for the Volunteer Organization, I plan to employ my role to heighten awareness and gather support of communities, organizations, civic leaders, and residents of our state, motivating them to rise to the challenge of ending the story of hunger and food insecurity. While assisting the fight of this nationwide crisis, I will lead by example to inspire others to give back to their communities just as I have done for many years. By partnering with Second Harvest Food Bank, I will continue to work hard to alleviate food insecurity, promote awareness to this cause, and give healthy nutritious food to others in need across the state and nation.
How would you utilize social media in order to positively further your position as a titleholder if you are selected as the winner?
If I were selected as the next Miss Tennessee Teen Volunteer, I would utilize social media to market not only my platform, but also, marketing this outstanding organization! Social media plays a vital role in positively representing yourself and the mission to “S. E. R. V. E.” those in our communities. When using social media, one is easily shown how this organization insures to further promote enrichment in today’s young women, communities, and our great state, Tennessee.