FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
CONTACT: Mishell Stephens or Keykey Brown
PHONE: (803)2696505/ (803)357-6285
EMAIL: missphenomenal16@gmail.com
DEFINING OUR
DIFFERENCES, DEFYING OUR DISORDERS, AND DELIEVERING DREAMS
Local
teenager, Mhorgan Stephens, creates a unique talent showcase amid community
support
The Miss Phenomenal Pageant
is ready to give a unique
group of girls an
opportunity to showcase their talents without regard to their race, disability,
disorder or size. On Saturday, March 19 at Blythewood High School, everyone
including the audience will have an opportunity to celebrate difference and be involved in a
program that supports the disorder/special needs community for a second year.
Sixteen-year
old visionary, Mhorgan Stephens, has a clear message. Stephens believes girls need to empower
one another. She says, “We are all strong and there is no need to focus on our
flaws. A pageant like this is needed because as a community we don’t give kids
with disabilities enough credit and they deserve to be recognized.”
Stephens’ primary
reason for creating the pageant that empowers young ladies is tied to her own
challenge with Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura or ITP, a chronic blood
disorder. ITP has been a part of her own
identity since she was 10 years old. Mhorgan understands what it’s like to deal
with stigmas, stereotypes, and shaming.
“I’ve been laughed at, exposed to rumors, and made to feel less than.
But I’ve also been encouraged to overcome it all thanks to family and faith.”
There was such
an outpouring of community support and feedback she was inspired to bring the
pageant back this year. Stephens also has another impetus for the pageant. She
simply wants the contestants, who represent the best of Columbia’s diversity,
to feel special much like the women they see on television, in magazines, and
online.
“I want them
to be treated like their stars and beauty queens so that they’ll be inspired to
offer the same treatment to other girls and young ladies.”
The
Miss Phenomenal Pageant takes place on Saturday, March 19 at Blythewood High School, 10901 Wilson Boulevard in
Blythewood. Tickets cost: $5.00 in advance $7.00 at the door and
$15.00 VIP can be purchase on Eventbrite.com
or picked up at Blythewood High School at the front desk. The pageant will
begin at 6 p.m. To hear more of her story or need more information visit http://youtu.be/E-N6CISplo0 or call (803) 803)269-6505
