Community Corner

Help Send West Deptford Pageant Winner to Miss Amazing Finals

Eighth-grader Kayla Baylor won the New Jersey title in April, but won't make the national pageant for women with disabilities without some help.

In April, eighth-grader Kayla Baylor brought the title of New Jersey Miss Amazing Pre-Teen home to West Deptford.

But she won't get a shot at the national crown without a lot of last-minute financial help.

Kayla's mother, JoAnn Colaneri, has been working for the last three months to collect enough donations to send her daughter to the national round of the pageant, which celebrates "the abilities of girls and women with disabilities." 

The four-day event is designed to give each state winner "the independence of pageant experience" as well as the chance to work on a community service project together, Colaneri wrote. 

But it'll be a tough hill to climb in a short time: of the $3,000 Colaneri is hoping to raise for her daughter in the next two weeks, she's about $2,950 short. And in the three months that Colaneri's been fund-raising, only one donation has come in.

There aren't any exorbitant pageant fees among that amount: the only cost to enter the contest is five cans of food, which are donated to local charities.

"I am down to two weeks and having a hard time finding sponsors," Colaneri wrote to Patch.

"I have tried fundraising and reaching out to local organizations with no luck. Am hoping can try to locate our hero(es) in sponsorship, whether business or individual."

Kayla has been diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome, an autism-spectrum disorder that affects her ability to interact with people. Colaneri wrote that her daughter's "primary symptom is social anxiety," and that, in addition to confronting her disability, Kayla has been bullied for it. 

She hopes that the opportunity for Kayla to succeed in a pageant setting will go a long way towards building her confidence.

"This pageant will help her stand in front of others in a crowded situation and help to build her self esteem," Colaneri wrote.

If you would like to help Kayla, you can make a tax-deductible donation here.


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