A READING woman says she is pushing herself out of the comfort zone ahead of her 25th birthday – by taking part in this year’s Miss England contest.
Rhianna Davis, a talent acquisition coordinator, applied in May with no experience of a pageant.
But she has impressed judges and is taking part in the semi-finals later this month.
“I turn 25 at the end of the year and I have given myself until then to push myself beyond my limits and live outside of my comfort zone,” she said.
“Having never competed in a pageant before or done any modelling, this is most definitely out of my comfort zone.
“I am hoping that this can inspire others to do something that puts them out of their comfort zone too.”
The heat will take place at the Taj Hotel in Buckingham Gate Suites in London on Monday, August 22. By the end of the day, 40 entrants will be whittled down to 15 for the final.
And it wasn’t the beauty aspect that drew Ms Davis to the contest. It was the opportunity to make a real difference. She says over the years, it has raised more than £1million for good causes and, had it just been focused on looks, she would never have entered.
“My second and most important reason for applying is because of the huge charity focus Miss England has,” she explained.
“As someone who is passionate about fundraising, at the time of applying, I thought competing would be great opportunity for me build on my fundraising history, and I have done just that already.”
She is attempting to raise £500 for the charity Beauty with a Purpose, which supports and protects disadvantaged children worldwide.
“I am more than halfway there, but to exceed my target would be amazing,” she says.
“Now more than ever, due to the rising cost of living across the globe, I believe it is so important that we do our bit to help one another where we can.
“By donating, no matter how big or small, we can make a difference to someone’s life.”
She added: “As much as I would love to get to the final and be crowned Miss England, I would love nothing more than to win the Beauty with a Purpose Charity Queen title.”
This is not the only fundraising Ms Davis had carried out, supporting a number of different good causes over the past seven years, including a skydive for The Rosemary Appeal in 2018. She says she has raised a combined total of more than £5,000.
“I fundraise every year because it is my contribution to the world and I get such pleasure from knowing I have made a difference to someone somewhere,” she said.
“To reach the final or to be crowned Miss England would enable me to do bigger and better things for charity, but with or without the title or crown, I am on a mission to top what I have previously done.”
Her inspiration comes from her family, including a severely autistic brother, and losing her grandfather to cancer in 2018.
I believe it is important to get across to people that the Miss England contest is more than just a beauty contest and the competition. If this was just a beauty pageant, I would have never entered myself.
Ms Davis has set up a donations page: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/rhianna-davis1
For more details on the contest, log on to: www.missengland.info
