By Guest Blogger Canisha Turner 

“1 in 6 children aged 2-8 years has a mental, behavioral or developmental disorder.” Because of this, Maddy created her platform, “Your BIG Day,” to help children who struggle with childhood anxieties.

At 7 years old, Maddy has always had a heart to help her community. All her ideas have been just that, HER ideas, and her parents just provide the tools. Maddy’s focus is to increase resilience among children and normalize the access to counseling and support groups.

Through this platform, Maddy focuses on helping children overcome the burden of worry and change. Whether it’s food insecurity, attending a new school, gaining confidence to try something new, or overcome challenges of a life altering disease, Your BIG Day hosts activities and service projects to meet every child at the point of their needs.

Maddy started serving her community at the age of 5 when she competed in her very first pageant. The pageant world allowed her to create a platform to promote community service. While at home one day Maddy stated that she was at school and a new student was introduced to the class. The student was scared and Maddy comforted the child by telling him that today was “Your BIG Day” and that they will be able to get through it. Her vision took off from there.

Maddy has been involved in a number of community service projects: A BRAVE Affair, Street Clean-Ups, numerous Food Drives, collections for organizations such as AuthoraCare and Operation Christmas Child, Blessing Boxes, Your BIG Day care packages, What’s In Your Purse hygiene packages, and several other service projects. A BRAVE Affair has proven to be her greatest service to date as she impacted over 12 girls in her community and taught them about self-confidence, self-worth, and self-esteem. She solicited the help of several community organizations and vendors to ensure that the girls were treated like true queens and poised to go and make a difference in this world.

Maddy has also been featured on FOX News WGHP for her extensive community service projects across the state.

During the week of June 20-26, Maddy will travel to Little Rock, Arkansas to compete for the National Miss 2nd Grade Elementary America title. She will compete against girls across the country in interview, fun fashion, evening wear, and community service. Maddy has prepared all year for this prestigious title and has worked with the best designers and coach to make sure that she is super prepared. She is looking forward to making a ton of memories and gaining life-long tools that will help her throughout school and her future endeavors. She will represent her home state and Shining Light Academy with great pride.

Want to stay abreast of all that’s to come with Maddy and Your BIG Day? Follow Maddy’s Place on Instagram and Facebook and you can watch for upcoming events, including another BRAVE Affair. You can also sponsor events or donate to Maddy’s Place who has an ongoing community service event with Kid’s Path via Hospice. Maddy is currently working on a book series called Your BIG Day and a candle line. Maddy aspires to be a farmer and hopes to one day help curve the food insecurities in our neighborhoods.

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