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Florida Earth Pageant's "Build-a-Bear drive" to benefit children in hospitals

Florida Earth Pageants inviteed the community to get into the holiday
spirit with their Build-A-Bear drive on December 17 at 7p.m. at The Falls. The drive allowed everyone to build their
own stuffed animals and then donate them to Recycle the Love, one of the pageant's platforms.
"We are taking all donated bears and other toys
to children who will be spending Christmas Day in the hospital," said Brittney Ronda, 15, the reigning Miss Teen Earth
Florida. "On December 25, we'll spend a few hours with the children, read stories, play with them and distribute all
the donations collected in this drive."
This is the second event in the month hosted by the
Florida Earth pageants. Ronda also organized an Ice Cream Social at Wall's Ice Cream Parlor. "We had tons of people come
and eat ice cream with us." Ronda explained. "Wall's is giving us 30 percent of all proceeds and we will be purchasing
more toys and decorations for the Christmas party for the children."

Florida Earth Pageants are preliminaries to the Miss Earth system,
the only one in the world dedicated 100 percent to environmental education. Besides representing the State at the national
and international competitions, Earth titleholders are active in their communities year-round.
"We invite everyone to give us a hand and contribute,
so these children who for one or another reason are spending the holidays in a hospital, also have the opportunity to enjoy
these days," said Kelly Saks, 24, Miss Earth Florida.
"We are proud to say that all our titleholders are
truly committed to serve their communities and make a difference," said Pageant Director Sandra Silva. "These are
ladies as young as 14 going out there and getting the job done. We have donated over 2,000 books to local elementary schools,
cleaned up local beaches, planted trees, and led educational activities for children in the last six months, just to name
a few."

Other welcomed donations include baby receiving blankets,
toys for ages 0 to 10, Christmas decorations and small Christmas trees.
The drive was hosted by Miss Earth Florida, Miss Teen Earth
Florida, Miss Earth Kendall, Miss Earth Weston and Miss Teen Earth Gulf Coast. The Build a Bear Workshop at The Falls
is located in store A180 at 888 SW 136th Street in Miami.
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