Deadline to enter is Feb. 20
By Kevin Spradlin
PeeDeePost.com
A sleeping nonprofit organization in Rockingham aims to come back to life this Spring in a big way — on stage.
The Richmond County Enrichment Corporation, led by Chereka Belton-Odom, is coordinating the inaugural Enrichment Pageant. RCEC is the nonprofit arm of the Rockingham Housing Authority. The pageant is set to begin at 6 p.m. on Saturday, March 14 at Cole Auditorium at Richmond Community College in Hamlet.
The contest is open to males and females ages 3 to 21. The pageant will be limited to 30 contestants. Belton-Odom said the pageant does not focus on beauty or talent; rather, “we do focus on your personality and building your confidence.”
“This will be a wonderful experience for new contestants in a pageant or a refreshing experience to those pageant professionals,” the program flier promotes. “It is our goal to help build your confidence, build upon the skills that you already possess and help raise your self-esteem.”
Belton-Odeom said the RCEC “has been sitting dormant for a few years” but the five-year RHA veteran hopes to change that. Prior to her arrival, the nonprofit operated an after school and summer program and “I heard it was pretty successful. We’re now trying to get back into that.”
The housing authority’s current after school and summer program, under the theme “Moving Futures Forward,” is open only to housing authority residents. Last year, 20 children participated in the summer program. Belton-Odom hopes to change that, too.
“We would like to open it up to the community,” she said.
Proceeds from the pageant will help her and the board of directors do just that.
Registration fee is $100 per contestant. The fee could potentially be refunded. The registration fee includes one free ticket for each contestant’s back stage assistant.
Mail registration forms and payment to: Richmond County Enrichment Corporation (RCEC) – PO Box 160, Rockingham, NC 28380
For RCEC Enrichment Pageant Information Package, contact Belton-Odom at 910-997- 3316 or at cbelton@rhanc.com.
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