You could call it a pageant with a purpose. A Coon Rapids mom and business owner recently launched a philanthropy-based pageant company, Gloss Pageantry.
Founder Amy Ann Dixon held Gloss's very first pageant in August. Each participant was asked to donate birthday-related items like boxed cake mix and frosting, presents, decorations and wrapping paper. Throughout the pageant more than one thousand items were collected. Last week the participants gathered again to divide the donated items into "Birthday Party Kits." More than 100 kits were made and will be distributed to food shelves and school districts across the metro for families in need. Dixon envisions a similar Gloss Give Back event, like the Birthday Party Kits, will accompany each and every Gloss Pageant.
Dixon's family has long been involved in pageants. Her 7-year-old daughter, Bianca, has competed in pageants since she was nine months old. And Dixon herself was a former Coon Rapids Teen Queen in 2005. Dixon has always encouraged her daughter to use her pageant titles to do good work in the community. She and her husband, Jordan Dixon, created Gloss Pageantry in hopes of teaching other pageant participants how to be future leaders that can use their titles to work for social change.
Gloss pageant winners will have the unique opportunity to earn badges for their pageant sashes each time they participate in a donation drive, volunteer opportunity and other charitable project.
