Delaware Jump-Rope-a-Thon for CAF is October 15
This wonderful event, taking place at the Wilmington PAL Center, 3707 N. Market Street in Wilmington, DE, is being sponsored by the Tri-State Cinderella Pageant; registration is at 8:00 a.m., and the jumping starts at 9:00 a.m. and goes until noon.
2011 Tri-State Cinderella Miss Queen Monet Jackson
Monet Jackson, a 10-year-old fifth grader with beta thalassemia major
Monet Jackson, a 10-year-old fifth grader with beta thalassemia major, is the 2011 Tri-State Cinderella Miss Queen.
“This is my first time in the Cinderella Pageant,” Monet told CAF, explaining that the Cinderella Pageant is a scholarship pageant that provides young people with support for their future college education.
Monet has taken hip hop, ballet and jazz dance classes, and for the pageant performed a dance to the song “Wild Horses” by Natasha Bedingfield. During the “question and answer” segment of the Pageant, Monet revealed she likes soccer, playing the violin, dancing, singing and reading; her favorite book series include Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and Junie B. Jones. She also said that she would like to be a dance teacher or a doctor when she is grown up.
“I was really excited and happy and surprised when I won,” she said.
There are things about having thalassemia that Monet doesn’t like, such as “going to doctors a lot and missing a lot of school,” but she also says she doesn’t look at thalassemia as a problem.
“My mom taught me that thalassemia is not a weakness and that I can do anything that I dream about,” she says, “and so I know I can.”
The Tri-State Cinderella Pageant (which encompasses Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey) is part of the Cinderella International Scholarship Pageant. Founded in 1976, the Cinderella Pageant has championed the need and value of higher education for women and has promoted that goal by awarding millions of dollars in cash college scholarships to young women from the United States and a host of foreign countries. Pageant winners (called “queens”) are selected in four categories: Tot, Miniature Miss, Miss and Teen.
The 2011 Tri-State Cinderella Miss Queen is Monet Jackson, a young girl with beta thalassemia major. One of the requirements of the Pageant is that each reigning queen perform community service. The Tri-State Cinderella Pageant selected a jump-rope-a-thon as this year’s community service charity activity and selected CAF as the recipient charity.
The Jump-Rope-a-Thon works in the same way as a walk-a-thon but with jumping rather than walking. Participants ask individuals or businesses to sponsor them by donating money. Prizes will be given to the biggest fundraiser and the top jumper. Mascots from Chick-Fil-A and a local minor league baseball team will also be at the event, as well as a DJ and child-oriented vendors.
Anyone can participate as a “jumper;” further information (including a pledge form) can be found by clicking here, or by calling (302) 691-8208 or emailing cooleysa@comcast.net.
CAF is very grateful to the Tri-State Cinderella Pageant for making us the recipient of the proceeds from the Jump-Rope-a-Thon and thanks everyone who participates in and supports this great event.