An Owen Sound resident is using her recent win at the Canadian National Miss pageant to help improving literacy for youth across North America.
Allison Chisholm started competing in pageants in 2021 digitally, and has been representing Owen Sound ever since.
“I decided to hop into Canadian National Miss with only two months to prepare after having my son five months ago,” she said about the birth of her second child. She also has a six-year-old daughter.
Originally from Chatham-Kent, Chisholm had decided to move to Owen Sound with her daughter to escape the reality of living in a big city during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Once she initially decided that she wanted to compete in pageants, she realized that she loved the competition.
She had previously competed in the Canadian National Miss competition, but felt she wanted to try it again to have a better result.
“I competed in this system before and I felt like I had a chance to do a little bit better than placed last time, which was dead last,” she said with a chuckle.
Now that she has some notoriety behind her name, she wants to use her influence to promote literacy among young people across Canada.
“Literacy is not just reading books,” she explained. “It’s writing, and it’s singing songs, and being involved in a community that is participating, in that aspect. It’s not just reading a book or having a book read to you.”
On Instagram, you can follow The Love and Literacy Project, which has resources to enhance youth literacy skills.
Chisholm competed in the Canadian National Miss Pageant from June 6th and 8th.
