AUGUST 2017 66 | FRONTDOORSMEDIA .COM GIVING IN STYLE CONTINUED community’s gratitude, love, pride and patriotism. Her service has enabled the creation of over 10,000 care packages in her five years serving them. Equally crucial: Her dedication to the pageant has also paid for her education in large part. MaddieRose is an aspiring journalist. MaddieRose has combined her representation of Arizona with her love for fashion. She partnered with State Forty Eight, an Arizona-based clothing line, to create a collaboration R.E.D (Remember Everyone Deployed) t-shirt. Through this effort, funds were raised to donate back to the Military Family Support Group. And thanks to the valuable scholarship dollars MaddieRose has earned, she has opportunities to continue making a difference and sharing stories like hers because of the education she’s received. Miss Arizona Outstanding Teen 2017 is also a product and champion of her upbringing. She’s using her visibility to create awareness for foster kids. Dimon Sanders spent years in the foster care system. She has used those difficult times to elevate the conversation about Arizona’s foster child system. Her platform, Hope for Children in Foster Care, has helped her find her voice and given her the courage to tell her story. Dimon has leveraged her experience in the foster care system to help countless others. Her volunteerism with Together We Rise, a nonprofit that provides duffel bags instead of trash bags to kids in the foster care system is making an impact. Dimon has gone so far as to add her own personal “Dimon Sweet Case” items that she believes are important to have while in foster care like nightlights and personal hygiene items. Fashion is a component of Dimon’s philanthropy. Through her involvement with GoodThreads, a clothing bank that helps foster kids pick out gently used clothes as well as holds clothing drives for donations, Dimon has had a chance to influence the next generation’s viewpoint on style. Dimon cautions against the allure of designer brands and instead puts the focus firmly on personal style for kids in need so they can have the resources they desperately require. As Miss Arizona continues to grow in popularity through a resurgence of women seeking better opportunities and hoping to help the world (while banding together as sisters), it’s key to note that their history shows an organization that has and will always be focused on positive societal change and equal opportunities for all. The role models this organization helps mold will continue to serve as leaders and advocates. The four points of the crown will be paramount and the young women who clamor toward this encouraging message will serve Arizona and America well. (Programming note: Miss Arizona 2017, MaddieRose Holler, competes for Miss America September 10, 2017, at 9 pm ET, broadcast live on ABC.) @tylerjbutler Tyler Butler SOCIETY AND FASHION WRITER

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