LEWISTOWN — The Miss Central Pennsylvania Scholarship Pageant has announced that the pageant, a local preliminary to Miss America and Miss America’s Outstanding Teen has named “The Jared Box Project” as its local platform.

The Jared Box Project provides decorated shoe box size plastic boxes which are filled with items like crayons, card games, puzzles, stickers and small toys which are given to hospitals across the country where they are then given to ill children who are in a hospital for chemotherapy, other medical treatments or who are taken to an emergency room, etc.

The Miss Central Pennsylvania titleholders, Miss Central Pennsylvania, Miss Greater Juniata Valley, Miss Freedom Forge, Miss Central Pennsylvania’s Outstanding Teen, Miss Greater Juniata Valley’s Outstanding Teen and Miss Freedom Forge’s Outstanding Teen will be promoting and spreading the word about The Jared Box Project in their appearances across the state.

As a first step, Miss Greater Juniata Valley’s Outstanding Teen Abby Traxler and Miss Freedom Forge’s Outstanding Teen Alivia Jacobs will be presenting Jared Boxes to the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh at the beginning of Miss Pennsylvania’s Outstanding Teen Pageant in Pittsburgh during the week of June 11.

Executive Director John Metzger stated that “The Jared Box Project seems to be the perfect charity for the pageant to team with. While the Jared Box Project is working nationally to help children in hospitals, it is headquartered in Central Pennsylvania and ties in well with the Miss America and Miss America’s Outstanding Teen platform which is Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. We are truly excited to be working with The Jared Box Project.”

The Miss Central Pennsylvania Scholarship Organization sponsors local preliminary pageants to Miss America and Miss America’s Outstanding Teen in Lewistown. It is incorporated as a Pennsylvania Not for Profit Organization.

The Jared Box Project is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization headquartered in Port Matilda, which has provided more than 100,000 Jared Boxes which have be delivered in 45 states.

If you would like more information about this topic, contact John Metzger, executive director at 717-248-5576 or pageant@MissCentralPA.org.