Fundraising is a big task for Miss SC hopefuls

On one of Columbia’s notoriously hot and humid afternoons, Miss River City Alexandra DuBose hung out at the popular shaved ice oasis Pelican’s SnoBalls on Rosewood for a fundraising “percent night” that she arranged.

As the Miss South Carolina contestant greeted customers with a kilowatt smile and impressively heat-resistant makeup, she encouraged everyone to purchase their SnoBall in support of the Children’s Miracle Network.

The road to becoming Miss South Carolina is paved with numerous glamorous tasks, but there is one that forces the girls to replace their tiaras with thinking caps: fundraising.

“It takes dedication and time to be a good fund-raiser,” said DuBose as she stole spoonfuls of her frozen treat to combat the sauna-like temperature. “This is the first pageant I’ve ever been apart of. Everyone else had been fundraising and working months before me, so I’ve just really tried to catch up and invest myself in it.”

Lindley Mayer, a Children’s Miracle Network assistant, explained that beyond the $100 the contestants are obligated to raise in order to compete, 40 percent of any money they raise goes to the Miss South Carolina Education Scholarship Fund while the other 60 percent goes to a children’s miracle hospital.

“There’s 170 Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals throughout the country and that’s the national platform for Miss America contestants since 2007,” said Mayer. “So if somebody raises $5,000 [in S.C.] in a specific town, that money goes to that specific children’s hospital, but it’s all under the umbrella of the children’s Miracle Network.”

One of this year’s highest-yielding fundraising contestants is Miss University of South Carolina, Leslie Knight. As executive director of USC’s dance marathon she and her board raised $501,528 for Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital.

“My board looked at me like I was crazy,” said Knight with a laugh as she recalls telling them of her lofty goal. “It was the most challenging and most rewarding experience I’ve ever had. You’re maybe going to be told no more times than yes, but it all adds up.”

And sometimes fundraising is not just about the money. Miss Midlands Tori Sizemore did not set a monetary goal but she found that her passion for adoption not only got her sponsorship for 30 $300 pages that featured a child per page available for adoption in the Miss South Carolina program book, she also partnered with Heather Smith for Southern Strategy to create a 5K called “Race for the Case,” which garnered over 800 suitcases for children in foster care.

“Just a few months ago I wouldn’t have considered myself a very good fundraiser, but what it takes is working toward something you believe in and that passion really comes through,” she said. “You get a real motivation to speak to people about it and that comes across.”

And hearing no, as all the girls will tell you, is one of the hardest, but inspiring parts.

“It can be very discouraging,” said Knight, “but you just have to put it into perspective and ask someone else. A no is still a success because you get to share what you’re passionate about it could change their minds the next time they’re asked to donate. You just have to keep a good attitude.”