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The money raised benefits programs that serve kids, including Yakima Memorial's neonatal intensive care unit, a regional facility serving the five-county region that is Central Washington.
Each high school student body nominates the contestants. The competition gets started in November and include a tour of Children's Village, along with several fundraising events each contestant does on their own.
Each contestant dedicates a huge amount of time raising money and rehearsing for their pageant, a two-hour spectacle that combines dance, humorous skits, honoring special people in their lives, on-stage interview questions and the final crowning of the winner.