Alexis Leslie of Moncton, New Brunswick was recently crowned Queen Junior Miss at the National Canadian Girl, Teen and Miss Pageant in Edmonton. The six-year-old girl plans to donate her winnings to help feed the homeless.
Her mother, Natalie Leslie, says her daughter’s true beauty is in her heart.
“It’s a natural thing for people to want to help people,” Natalie Leslie said. “But not everyone is living that these days and that’s why I am most proud of her.”
Alexis beat out dozens of contestants to take home top prize in the Canadian Junior Miss category for girls between the ages of six and 13. In preparation for the competition held from July 4-10, Alexis spent three months volunteering to raise money for people in need in her community.
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Her mother says she has volunteered to raise money for The IWK Children’s Hospital in Halifax, the Alzheimer’s Society and the Canadian Cancer society. She also helped to do garbage cleanup on Earth Day in her community. But Alexis says feeding the homeless is most dear to her heart.
She volunteers every week to help prepare and serve meals to the homeless through an organization called the Humanity Project.
“I want to help people that don’t have any food,” Alexis said.
Charles Burrell, the founder of the Humanity Project, first met Alexis when she was helping her mother feed the homeless at a street side station.
“She was sitting on the steps with a bag of cookies and there was a person who was homeless sitting beside her and she was sitting there sharing her cookies with him and just making him laugh and making him smile,” Burrell said.
Alexis says being a pageant queen is all about helping out the community.
She says she still loves the trophies and especially the tiaras, but making people smile is the true prize.
Her first order of business in her year-long rein is to donate her $100 winnings to help feed the homeless.
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