GiAnna Anderson has big dreams and a big heart. As she prepares to compete in the Miss Pennsylvania Teen USA pageant in August, she’s making an impact here in the South Hills by hosting a donation drive.
Like many of our neighbors, GiAnna’s story has hardships and triumphs. She’s only 19 years old, but she understands the challenges that low-income families face. GiAnna’s grandmother told her mom about SHIM, and they started utilizing several programs. They came to the food pantry and signed up for utility assistance. GiAnna especially loved attending the Back-to-School distributions, as she remembers that picking out her own school supplies was a treat.
“Being able to pick out my supplies at SHIM was so joyful!”
Now that GiAnna has a platform to give back, she’s interested in helping people in her local community. In discussions with her mom, she learned just how impactful SHIM’s programs were for her family during a difficult time. SHIM’s mission resonates deeply with GiAnna’s desire to help people access food and find meaningful programs that help them achieve self-sufficiency.
“I want to work with an organization that helps families struggling to provide basic meals in their homes today. I never want anybody to experience the type of toll that food insecurity took on my siblings and me.”
GiAnna is hosting a food drive this Sunday to rally others to fight food insecurity here in the South Hills. She’ll be set up in the Brentwood Park parking lot on June 15 from 1-4PM. Drop off your food and personal care donations with her to help serve our South Hills neighbors in need! You can find a list of our most needed items HERE.
Many people who experience hunger are hesitant to share their story, but GiAnna wants to help people understand that there’s no shame in needing help.
“It’s not embarrassing to need help, and you don’t have to be down to nothing before asking for help. Our struggles make us stronger.”
GiAnna hopes that her own journey can inspire others to persevere. She’s been modeling since she was 14 years old, but she wasn’t always so confident. Like many young women, she faced body issues and was especially sensitive of her mixed-race identity. She didn’t see many people who looked like her, which made her more self-conscious. Surprisingly, the switch to online schooling during the coronavirus pandemic proved helpful, as GiAnna met more diverse classmates and felt more comfortable with her own appearance.
GiAnna initially got into pageantry after watching her sister thrive in the competitive world of boxing. She wanted to find a competition that fit her skill set. Combining a focus on helping others with modeling, pageantry felt like a perfect match.
At first, GiAnna’s family was skeptical of her ability to compete in the Miss Pennsylvania Teen USA competition, her first pageant, with only three months of preparation. She found a coach and dedicated herself, working to find sponsors to help her cover the cost of competing. Now that she’s shown how serious she is about competing, GiAnna’s family is cheering her on!
“If you don’t take something seriously within yourself and convince yourself that you can do it, than no one else will believe that you’re capable.”
GiAnna has big plans for her future. She’d like to become a sports agent and is already managing her older sister’s boxing career. She’d also like to found a nonprofit that provides athletes with equipment and mental health resources. As a pageant competitor, she can relate to the pressures that athletes feel competing for various titles. She sees an opportunity to provide vital resources to help athletes become their best selves.
We’re so grateful that GiAnna is working to help neighbors here in the South Hills! Neighbors like her help us build a community where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.
Learn more about how we help neighbors on our Blog.
