Beauty with a purpose
Teen beauty pageant gives young girls the opportunity to make a difference in their community. The winner, JD Baard, intends on doing this to the best of her ability.
The Miss South African School Beauty and Ambassador pageant announced this year’s winner on 12 October at La Louise in Akasia. A Centurion resident and a pupil at Pretoria Girls High, JD Baard, was crowned as the 2013 Miss SA School Senior overall winner. Girls from around the country had the opportunity to enter this competition.
Baard also won the categories for the best debutante for charity projects, best interview and was the winner of the grade 8-9 category. Anke Besuidenhout from Laerskool Unitas Park in Vereeniging won the junior division.
The 14-year-old winner said that it meant a lot to her to be able to use the title to make a difference in other people’s lives. “JD has a passion for children and the elderly and in her projects before the finals she realised that she could make a big difference in the community with the title,” JD’s mother, Cynthia Baard-Basson said. JD wants to study equine therapy and work with disabled people. “JD has big dreams to win other beauty pageant competitions after seeing the difference that beauty pageant queens can make in their community,” said Baard-Basson.
The beauty pageant focuses mainly on giving young school girls the opportunity to get involved in their community and represent their school. At the beginning of the pageant, the girls were assigned the task of working on their own charity projects, where they could make a difference in other people’s lives. The pageant also focused on making these girls ambassadors from a young age. It is expected from the winner to participate in community projects of the organiser’s choice and also to participate in the school’s community projects.
