By Elizabeth

and Ryerlin

Hi Forks! Happy New Year, let’s start this one off right, with community first! This is Elizabeth, your Miss Washington Jr. High School USA 2025 … and this time I’ve brought a friend to help write this article!

*Hi! I’m Ryerlin, your Miss West Coast Jr. High School USA 2025!

As many of you know, pageants aren’t all pretty smiles and big dresses like they used to be. Today pageants involve something called a “platform”, that’s the Charity or Activism Movement you want to promote and help. My platform is to help “The American Printing House for the Blind” because they are a non-profit helping people who with visual impairment to have equal access to education and promote independent living. I think EVERYONE deserves an education. No one wants to be DISabled and we live in an age where almost everyone could be ENabled if we just helped. They not only develop numerous products to help with daily life that ranging from games and sports to living aids, but they also provide a range of services like transcribing school textbooks and helping people find the resources they need.

*My platform is for “Ginger’s Closet” because they do so much not only to help people with disaster relief, but also are helping combat the problems that Fast Fashion have begun to cause with the increase in global clothing trash, dangerous factory conditions and the hazardous chemicals and plastics used in cheap clothing. Ginger’s teaches people how to repair and upcycle their clothes to prolong their life cycle.

As Ryerlin and I were working on figuring out what a platform was and how to work for one, we noticed something. There were very few kids volunteering out there. We know a lot of kids are busy with school or extra activities, sometimes their parents just don’t have the time or ability to get them out there for these opportunities and sometimes the kids just don’t know what they can do to help. I didn’t! I live overseas most of the year and it’s really hard to find places where I can help because I don’t speak the native languages here of Romanian or Russian (so I really feel that connection to the kids in Forks who mainly speak Spanish, it’s hard). And when I am in Forks, it seemed like almost everything was for adults only (for safety or insurance or other reasons). It just seems like it’s so hard to find ways to help.

*So we’d like to challenge YOU, all the kids of Forks, to go out and volunteer this year! We want to challenge you to find ways to get involved in your community. If you find a place that needs volunteer helpers, let everyone know! If you volunteer yourself, have your parents help you share a photo with the hashtag #forkskidscare on social media to help inspire others to do the same.

You can visit, message or follow us on Facebook or Instagram at:

@MissWAJrHighSchoolUSA25 – Elizabeth

@MissWestCoastJrHighSchoolUSA25 – Ryerlin

We will be posting places where you can volunteer and will be highlighting your volunteering actions too! Let’s help strengthen our community and bring everyone together.

If you’d like to join us at Nationals this July for the Miss Collegiate USA (MCU) pageant, we are still looking for TWO High School and TWO College ladies to join Team Forks! (College includes Community college, university or even grad school.) You can come alone to nationals or bring a friend since there are 2 spots open … I can say from personal experience bringing a bestie is AWESOME! Who says pageants can’t be team sports? Titles for Miss Washington and Miss West Coast are still open for these age groups in our region. If you’d like more information, you can go to their website at: www.misscollegiateusa.org.