Help Support local girl in Miss Universe and Make a Wish come true.

Please read the following below from Jennifer who is championing our town and country to further afield, I think its excellent to see and from all at paisley.org.uk we wish Jennifer all the very best. (please follow Jennifer’s Facebook group)

Hi there,

My name is Jennifer Welford I am 23 years old. I was born in Paisley and have lived in our town for my entire life. I was a student at Castlehead High School and after years of training at Bonnie and Sharon Barr’s School of Dance at the YMCA in New Street I gained a taste for the limelight and last year decided to enter the international beauty pageant Miss Universe. The contest is owned by American Tycoon Donald Trump and has entrants from all over the world who are not only beautiful but intelligent, aware and ambitious young women who become great role models for a younger generation and ambassadors for charities worldwide.

The selection process is tough. After submitting your original entry and photographs, suitable girls are selected for a semi final interview followed by a regional final. At the interview you are given an opportunity to prove that you are the perfect candidate for the role. After the interview I had to wait for about a week before I knew I had been chosen for Miss Universe Scotland but when the letter arrived at my house I can’t tell you how excited I was, the feeling was incredible, however, I knew I was going to have to work hard to get a top three spot and qualify for the British final. The regional final was held on the 27/2/10 and I can’t say the night went without a hitch as during a catwalk I tripped and landed on the judges table. I knew I had all my friends and family cheering me on and I was willing to let all the hard work go to watse so, in true Buddie style, I picked myself up and got on with it which resulted in my coveted top 3 spot. I am now through to the final of Miss Universe Great Britain where one special young lady will be selected to represent our country at the international final.

In the run up to the contest Miss Universe Scotland Contestants were given the opportunity to work with and raise funds for the Make A Wish Foundation, a charity which helps grant the wishes of children and young people fighting terminal illness. I jumped at the chance to use my involvement in the contest to make a difference and organised a sponsored 5k held on the 20/2/10 along with Glasgow Parkrun. It was freezing on the day of the race but my group and I soldiered on and for our efforts raises a whopping £1817 for the chairty!! The next round of the contest has chosen the Joshua Foundation as their charity and I have decided to host a Black Tie Dinner Dance at The Hilton Grosvenor in Glasgow’s West End to raise funds for them. With a fabulous four course dinner, entertainment from esteemed writer, producer and stand up comedian Phil Differ and one of the best ceilidh bands in the business “The Jiggers” it’s set to be a great night. Tickets are £29 and all proceeds will go to the charity.

The final of the contest will be held in Birmingham at the ICC on the 02/05/10 and on the night one girl will be crowned the “Peoples Choice” and awarded 20 extra points onto the judges score. The way she will do this is by encouraging supporters to vote for her. I would love it if the people of Paisley could get behind me and text a message with the words “JENNIFER WELFORD” to 81118 to register a vote for me and help our town gain yet another successful export! You can also join my facebook support group by following this link and clicking the “join group” button at the top of the page – http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?v=info&gid=282025951365

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my mum, Christopher and Evelyn, the Paisley Express and Brian at www.paisley.org.uk for helping me so much with my campaign and finally I would like to thank my local sponsor Pro-Life Fitness Centre www.prolifefitnesscentre.com for chosing to help me through the final. You have all been wonderful.

Jen