Katy Sartain, recently crowned Miss Florida Sunshine, is leading a food drive in Dade City aimed at helping the Florida Baptist Children’s Homes.
She’s seeking to collect single-serving macaroni and cheese meals, and cans of chicken and tuna, in a quest to help fill 500 backpacks.
Anyone wishing to donate items should bring them on or before April 15 to The Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce office at 14112 Eighth St., in Dade City.
“One of the things that you do within the Miss America organization is volunteer for a day of service, called Miss America Serves,” Sartain explained.
The Miss America organization is supporting The Florida Baptist Children’s Homes in Lakeland, she said.
“I work a lot with older youth in foster care, so it’s amazing that my own personal platform kind of correlates and is congruent with this day of service.
“I’m very passionate about this in my own personal life, and I love that other people are getting involved as well,” Sartain said.
The Dade City native, who attends Florida State University, will be competing in June for the title of Miss Florida. The winner of that contest will seek the title of Miss America in September.
The Pasco High School graduate said she was initially unsure if she wanted to get involved in the pageant world.
“I was a little hesitant about getting involved because of the outward appearance of ‘Toddlers and Tiaras’ and things like that, but the amazing thing about the Miss America organization is that it’s a scholarship pageant, and I have been able to pay for a large majority of my tuition through the scholarship money that I’ve earned,” said Sartain, who is a college sophomore and is pursuing a degree in digital media production.
She said she decided to ask The Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce to serve as a collection point for the food drive, because she thought it would be a good way for the community to get involved.
“I thought more people would be apt to help out if we had a collection point, and kind of get the community involved in helping to feed our children,” Sartain said. “I wanted to make it something that everyone could help with, and get that sense of satisfaction.
“Everyone can do that — and be able to help a child who may be going home hungry. It doesn’t take that much effort or funds to help,” she added.
She thinks the community will step forward to help.
“The great thing about living in a small town is that you do have all of this support around you,” Sartain said. “The phrase, ‘It takes a village to raise a child,’ — I really have been raised by Dade City.”
The food drive is helping an organization established in 1904 as an orphanage. Through a history stretching more than a century, it has expanded services to provide safe, stable Christian homes and services to children and families in need.
Last year, the organization served more than 74,000 children through their campuses, foster care services, adoption service, emergency care, compassion ministries and other services, according to the organization’s website.
Other women involved in the Miss Florida system also are conducting local food drives to provide other items for the backpacks, Sartain said.
She will be at the children’s home in Lakeland on April 16 to help load the backpacks.
Food Drive
Katy Sartain, recently crowned Miss Florida Sunshine, is leading a food drive in Dade City to provide food items to The Florida Baptist Children’s Homes in Lakeland. She’s specifically seeking donations of single-serve macaroni, and cans of tuna and chicken.
Anyone wishing to donate items should bring them on or before April 15 to The Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce office at 14112 Eighth St., in Dade City.
Published April 13, 2016
