LEXINGTON — Valarie Duffey has always wanted to help others. Now she’s setting a standard for future Little Miss Lexingtons.
Valarie, 7, was crowned Little Miss Lexington in October. After viewing a video online about a need for surgical caps for patients at Golisano Children’s Hospital in Rochester, New York, she felt compelled to help.
The 124-bed hospital is the only children’s hospital in the Rochester-area. Over the past decade, Golisano Children’s Hospital has been ranked as a top 50 children’s hospital by U.S. News and World Report. The hospital has 27,000 pediatric emergency visits a year and 21,300 pediatric surgeries per year.
The second-grade student at Central Elementary School is also an American Heritage girl, a national, Christian-based scouting-like organization with a strong sense of community service. She wanted to do something. This project will help Valarie earn a badge for sewing, which she said her grandmother taught her.
“American Heritage girls serve within their community,” she said.
Between Feb. 12 and 16, Valarie will be going to Lexington schools collecting donations of cotton fabric and one-fourth inches in elastic — no flannel or glitter.
“It’s not required,” Valarie’s mother, Jessica, said of Little Miss Lexington’s community service. “Since she’s the first Little Miss Lexington of the program, they are letting her set the precedent. She’s got a heart to serve.
“I’m just very proud of her to have a heart to show people Jesus. It’s not very often a 7-year-old goes out of her way to help people not just in her community but the whole United States. It makes me proud to see her want to serve others like that.”
