Urbanna Queen contestant Taylor Newman and her Little Miss Spat co-contestant Marilyn Major created the Sunshine Project. They spent the summer raising awareness to help children in need. Taylor has a strong belief that spreading awareness about the needs of children and families is crucial because it brings attention to the often overlooked struggles they face. Many children and families lack access to basic necessities like food, shelter, and healthcare. Raising awareness can help bring attention to communities to provide support and resources. Taylor believes every child deserves the opportunity to thrive.
Taylor discovered The Foundry of Middlesex to be a great organization to receive her donations. The Foundry is a nonprofit youth center that provides after-school care and youth development. The Foundry is a space where children can learn life skills and grow personally. The Foundry was a perfect opportunity for Taylor and Marilyn to locally help children who might need it most.
The Sunshine Project
The first event they organized was a bake sale to spread the word of their community project, “The Sunshine Project.” This bake sale was conducted at the Urbanna Farmers Market. Taylor received many donations and met a lot of new people in the community. Taylor had a large poster that explained her vision for helping children. This brought much attention leading her to meet many connections to help her project. At the bake sale, Taylor and Marilyn provided a variety of baked goods such as cookies, brownies, and muffins, etc. They also provided ice cold lemonade.
Next, they organized a pool party, open to children and families of the community. This pool party was conducted at the Ricky Taylor Memorial swimming pool in Deltaville. There was pizza and dessert provided as well as many fun and engaging pool activities for the children. This event brought the community together to support The Sunshine Project. Taylor gave out gifts and prizes to the children and set up a photo booth for people to take photos. Taylor and Marilyn received many helpful donations.
In August, Taylor and Marilyn spent their time using the donations they received to purchase school supplies. Taylor also posted an Amazon wishlist. This was an open invite for people across the community to donate school supplies. This event was very prosperous in receiving school supplies for the children of Middlesex. Taylor and Marilyn were then invited to The Foundry’s open house. At the open house, she and Marilyn presented their school supplies to the families of The Foundry. Finally, Taylor presented a large donation to help with The Foundry’s program. Taylor plans on continuing to help The Foundry by volunteering.
To continue the community support, Taylor and Marilyn used a portion of their donations to purchase a Little Free Library. They spent a lot of time building and painting to make a bright and appealing library for the children. Taylor and Marilyn donated the library to the Deltaville Community Park. Taylor’s vision for this library was to promote reading and expand access for all children of Middlesex.
The Sunshine Project Library will continue to stay stocked with many children’s books. When you visit the library you will see there is also a rock garden for children. These are meant to be “kindness rocks” that can be taken, painted, and returned to the garden. They can also be used to give to friends or spread throughout the community with the intent to spread sunshine and kindness.
Thanks
Taylor and Marilyn would like to thank the following people for their support and willingness to help support The Sunshine Project: Beth Justice, Katie McCue, Beth Hurd, Kaylyn Schultz, Teal Cola, Makayla Moore, Carousel Physical Therapy, The Deltaville Community Association, Lori Self, Taylor’s parents and grandparents, and Marilyn’s parents and grandparents. In the end, Taylor and Marilyn raised a large charitable donation in their events aimed at helping children in need. Taylor hopes to continue to give back to the children and families in her community of Middlesex County.
What Taylor enjoyed most about this project was being able to help the community and meeting new people along the way. Most especially, Taylor and Marilyn made so many memories, going to the park, doing crafts, and preparing for events. Taylor is so grateful for the time spent with her spat and for the opportunity to make a difference.
Taylor is a senior at Middlesex High School and has been a cheerleader at Middlesex High School for four years. She has also participated on the swim team and soccer team. Taylor has spent her summers working at the Deltaville Pool as a lifeguard for three years. Taylor also enjoys babysitting. Taylor maintains a 3.5 grade point average. She plans to attend Rappahannock Community College next fall to obtain an associate of applied science degree in Diagnostic Medical Sonography, Specialization in Echocardiography. She plans to continue her education afterwards. Her long term goal is to become a pediatric cardiac sonographer at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center.
Taylor is the daughter of Jayson and Brandy Newman of Hartfield.
Marilyn is the daughter of Ryan and Brandy Major of Urbanna. She is a first grader at Middlesex Elementary School and enjoys playing outside, swimming, and ice cream. Marilyn wants to be a lifeguard when she grows up.
