Paige Neri is your typical seven-year old. She likes playing dress up, leads conversations, eager to be in the spotlight, and loves taking part in beauty pageants since she was three years old.
What makes her not typical is her big heart. Paige raises money for various causes and charities.
Paige won the Regional finals for National Canadian Girls, Teen and Miss (NCGTM) on her first try. She is representing BC as the National Canadian Girl Petite Miss Lower Mainland BC, and is working her way towards the finals on July 7-10, 2016 in West Edmonton Mall Alberta. The winner of the pageant will win the only All Natural Scholarship System across Canada. It is a prestigious title holding system which means each girl is able to keep her title for a whole year and represents NCGTM in any cause they chose to be involved in as well as supporting any charities across Canada and making appearances tat any festivals, functions, conferences, fairs, parades and social events proudly wearing their NCGTM crown and sash.
Paige and her Mom, Nina, are making and selling Disney Princess themed ribbons/bow to raise funds for Surrey Memorial Hospital Tertiary Palliative Care Unit, such as a “coffee fund” for patients who are battling cancer and other disease and their families who are taking care of them; the BC Children’s Hospital for the new Tech Acute Care Center; and Black Pencil Project Philippines for indigenous kids who don’t have school supplies like pens, papers, pencils and crayons.
Paige had her first official public appearance at Canadian Immigrant’s Multicultural Women’s Conference and Fair last March 31 at the Croatian Cultural Centre in Vancouver, and pitched her causes to the attendees. She also helped sell daffodils to raise awareness and funds for Canadian Cancer Society. Through all her efforst, Paige learned the value of giving back to the community.
“No matter how small your actions are, it always makes a big difference to people around you,” she quotes. When asked why she wanted to join the NCGTM, she said she wants to win the money and give it the Children’s Hospital for a new building.
Through this article, Paige and her family are hoping that more people will buy hair bows/ribbons from us and to raise awareness of the causes around them. They say that with one small act of kindness, more people will learn how to share it and pass it along to others.
To follow Paige’s journey through the pageant and her works of charity, you can follow her Facebook account: https://www.facebook.com/National-Canadian-Girl-20162017-Petite-Miss-Lower-Mainland-BC-449186088604381 and atwww.ncgpageant.com.
Rosette Correa.