Charity is a huge aspect of the Miss England competition and I believe it is the true foundation of being a beautiful individual. I asked a number of titleholders what charitable activities they are involved in and what Beauty with a Purpose means to them.

Stephanie Hill – Miss South Yorkshire 2015 and Miss England Talent Winner 2014

“As a direct result of winning Miss Talent 2014 I was able to start my own performance business 'Practically Perfect Princess Parties and Performances' from my winning 'Frozen Inspired' performance.

The Frozen franchise has been incredibly popular and has a huge following, so I thought it was an obvious decision to use my business for fundraising purposes with such a universal target market. I am working with the Miss England Office to promote their headquarters as a venue; The Sanctuary Workshops is such a versatile establishment which can cater for any client's needs. The venue can be used for weddings and other functions, as a rehearsal space, and is frequently used for classes such as yoga and other physical activities. The Sanctuary Workshops was the perfect setting for my 'Afternoon With Elsa', with an added bonus of featuring an ice white decor to really create the magic for the children who will be attending!

'An Afternoon With Elsa' featured a sing-a-ling performance, 'Build Your Own Snowman', Frozen-inspired party games, face painting and much more! Through running my children's party business, I have been able to experience myself what the target audience expects from an entertainer, so I am hoping the event met everyone's expectations and encouraged as much support as possible for Beauty With a Purpose!

The official Miss World Charity, Beauty With a Purpose, will be receiving the proceeds from my event. The work that is done by the candidates who fundraise for the cause is astonishing; and it is even more rewarding to see the results of the incredibly hard work the fundraisers contribute to the charity. As a student studying Radiotherapy and Oncology, I have assisted medical teams and witnessed children receiving treatment for cancer. Knowing that the proceeds raised from Miss England have funded projects that have benefited children undergoing treatment for cancer and other life-changing conditions is so wonderful, and being able to campaign for the charity from a cause so close to my heart makes every effort to raise money even more worthwhile. Beauty With a Purpose helps disadvantaged children, whether the children be suffering from an illness or be suffering from poverty, the funds raised go to an essential cause. Through hosting an event specifically aimed for children, the children who attend will be supporting other children all over the world, and hopefully they will enjoy themselves while doing it too!"

Emma Briggs, Miss Popularity Forest & Fens & finalist in Miss Lincolnshire:

 “To raise money for Beauty With a Purpose I have done a 15 mile sponsored walk, produced a charity cover of Fix You which is on sale on BandCamp and I have also sold some of my clothes on eBay with all profits going to the charity. I am really inspired by the work the charity has done so even if I do not win this round, I am going to continue to raise money for BWAP! Myself and the current Miss Nottingham, Rebecca Drysdale, have joined forces to organise a charity dinner and ball which will be held on Saturday, August 1st at the Hilton in Nottingham. Profits made from ticket sales will be donated to the charity as well as any money from raffle ticket purchases on the night. We are in the early stages of organising this so there may well be more going on on the night to raise even more money to help BWAP continue their amazing work!! If I do win the Popularity round or Miss Lincs I will be planning more events in the run up to the national final as well!”

Briony-Mai Reynolds, Miss Cornwall 2015:

“I am hosting a Beauties vs Beats Paintball Day, and as well as Beauty With A Purpose I am raising money for Help For Heroes as all the males in my family are military or have been at war.”

Alex Ross, Miss Forest & Fens 2015:

“I've been raising money for BWAP by busking and I will also be raising money for Cancer Research in the lead up to the finals, as well as obviously the crown charity challenges too. I've got a few things in the pipeline but they aren't set in stone so I'll have to get back to you on those. I'll be taking part in a charity boxing match for BWAP soon as well.”

Me:

A wise owl once told me that it is with beautiful actions that we change the world. And these words could not be truer. It is so rewarding to see hard work and compassion put to use to alleviate poverty, provide healthcare and give education.

I have worked with a number of charitable organisations: Wintercomfort, Kidney Research UK, YOPEY, Age UK, Naomi House & Jacksplace, Trinity Winchester, Cystic Fibrosis Trust South, Macmillan, Southampton Hospital Charity and of course BWAP.

I work very closely with Southampton Hospital Charity, especially the oncology unit. I suppose going through what my family did has given us, me, a real sense of purpose to make a difference in the world. I got involved with the hospital after a very close family member was treated there, which I fundraise for and have recently presented and modelled at the hospital’s charity fashion show and ran a half-marathon for it.

So I know first-hand just how much these vital funds and proceeds raised from Miss England contestants will fund brilliant projects benefiting children. Nobody should have to live with cancer, especially not children.

Visiting those wards and watching people have chemotherapy was harrowing. But all I had to do was watch and see, and it made me realise how brave and courageous everyone suffering from cancer is - but for children to have that disease is heart-breaking.

However, we can beat cancer through our fundraising, and more people survive now than ever before.

I am honoured to support charities like BWAP and SHC that are so close to my heart because they have allowed me to grow into the person I am now –  a better person that I am proud to be. BWAP has truly allowed me to become the very best version of myself at the same as saving children worldwide from suffering, sickness and poverty and I can’t thank the organisation enough for giving me that opportunity.

So what is beauty with a purpose? I believe it is about being the very best you can be, and giving your heart and compassion to others. Be strong, be an example, be kind. Get back up when life gets you down and bring others up around you. The greatest trait humanity has is our huge capacity to love, so giving back, helping others and just being a moral and good willed person is a purpose to be here, a purpose to live life. A purpose to be considered beautiful.