| Subject: Another Indo-Canadian Vying For Miss Canada World Title |
Author:
 Tommy
|
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
Date Posted: 11:11:53 05/02/10 Sun
VANCOUVER – There will be numerous Indo-Canadian contestants at the Miss Canada World pageant taking place in Surrey on May 7.
Dona Sharma , a 4th year student in the joint UBC/BCIT Honours, Co-op Biotechnology
program, is among three Indo-Canadian women to be selected as a delegate for the Miss World Canada pageant, 2010 which is going to be held in Vancouver for the first time ever.
Poonam Puni and Sapna Sehrawat, whom the LINK profiled last week, are the other two who will be taking part.
The Miss World Canada pageant is a national event in which 33 representatives from all over Canada will be competing for the title of Miss World Canada this year. This pageant is the official preliminary to the international Miss World pageant which will be held in Vietnam in November, 2010.
The Miss World Canada pageant is quite different from typical pageants due to the emphasis on raising funds for Variety: The Children's Charity and helping the community. This pageant show cases talent and community service and is a fundraiser for Variety-The Children’s Charity of BC which is a non-profit organization with the mission to raise funds and distribute grants throughout BC to inspire hope, enrich lives and build a better future for children who have special needs.
Since 1965, Variety-The Children’s Charity of BC has raised over $150 million. Each year Variety receives over 1200 requests for financial assistance for medical emergencies, therapies, specialized equipments, drug prescriptions and out of town accommodation, meal and travel costs.
Julia Morley who is the President of the Miss World Organization and Variety International, coined the phrase 'Beauty With A Purpose' more than 25 years ago and since then more than $400 million USD have been raised in its name in support of children's charities across the globe.
Dona was born in a multicultural community in India. After her family immigrated to Canada, she began her post-secondary education in Kelowna and then moved to Vancouver for further studies. Due to her deep interests in medicine, community service and working with kids, she plans to attend medical school and become a paediatrician.
During high school, Dona represented India as a Rotary exchange student in Washington State and also represented Washington State at the National Youth Science camp in USA.
Dona also won 2nd place at the Intel International Science & Engineering fair and received the honour of having an asteroid named after her through the CERES program at the MIT Lincoln laboratory. She also received awards from the American Association of University Women, United States Department of Agriculture, Institute of Food Technology and the Society of Women Engineers for excellence in Science. Dona was also awarded the “Gujarat Gaurav” or “Pride of Gujarat” award by the Gujarat government for her scientific achievements at an international level.
Dona has also served as the president of the Indian Students’ Association at UBC and currently volunteers as a client service volunteer at the Canadian Red Cross Medical Equipment Loan Depot, a gift shop volunteer, a volunteer for the extended care Sunday services and a volunteer for the physiotherapy program at the UBC hospital.
Apart from volunteering, Dona also enjoys dancing. She has been very active in our local Indian community and has performed traditional Indian and Bollywood dances at different local events including the India Day celebration in Surrey, the annual Cultural show by the Gujarati Society of BC and many other events on the UBC campus and in the Vancouver area.
Dona has been motivated to participate in the Miss World Canada pageant because she believes that this is pageant is “one of a kind” and will be a unique learning experience that will allow her to play a major role in fundraising for humanitarian causes, and helping children and people around the world.
As a contestant and a BC representative, Dona is working on raising funds for Variety: The Children’s charity of BC. Dona’s fund raising efforts count for 10% of her overall score of the competition. You can help her by buying gold heart pins from Variety and by buying tickets for the pageant show. The gold heart pins from Variety can be sold for a minimum donation of $3 and is a great way to contribute towards the future of children with special needs.
The pageant finale will be held at the Chandos Pattison Theatre in Surrey on May 7th, Friday at 7 pm. Tickets are $25 and a portion of the net ticket proceeds will be donated to Variety.
If you would like to make a donation to Variety or buy tickets for the pageant show, please contact Dona at donasharma@hotmail.com
http://www.thelinkpaper.ca/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1272299229&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
| |
Feedback: 