OXFORD, Miss – Just days before heading to the Miss Mississippi Pageant, Miss University Adrian Turner of Tupelo held a trunk show and silent auction on campus, raising $1,811 to support her pageant platform, Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center in Memphis. 
“This year, I am using this opportunity to promote my pageant platform and help raise funds for Le Bonheur,” said Turner, a senior pharmacy major at the University of Mississippi. “Businesses from Tupelo, Oxford and Amory donated thousands of dollars worth of items that were auctioned off in a silent auction, and Renasant Bank agreed to be a corporate sponsor matching the donations made up to $500.”
Two pieces of pottery, inspired in honor and memory of two patients from Le Bonheur, were also included in the auction.
Turner competes in the Miss Mississippi Pageant July 7-10 in Vicksburg. She has been focusing on her pageant platform since being crowned Miss University in February.
“Le Bonheur has always been an organization I have the utmost respect for and will work with for the rest of my life,” Turner said. “They provide health care for children despite the ability of the family to pay for the treatments. They treat their patients with kindness and respect and give them normalcy in a time of trial and uncertainty.”
Playing a major role in helping Turner prepare for the state pageant is Jennifer Taylor, director of campus programming, who has been involved with the Miss University pageant since 2002.
“This is a life-changing experience for the young women who compete in the system,” Taylor said. “Adrian is the epitome of everything Miss University stands for – a woman of grace, beauty and integrity. She is so very dedicated and passionate about raising awareness for her platform. It’s such an honor to work with such an amazing young woman.”
In April, Turner and Taylor partnered with UM’s Willie Price Nursery School to coordinate a toy and book drive for Le Bonheur. This included a pep rally where Turner spoke to the children about the importance of volunteerism, as well as the generosity and kindness Le Bonheur offers patients and families. At the end of the project, she hosted an ice cream sundae celebration to reward the children for their support, which helped collect more than 350 toys and books.
To raise awareness on campus about the importance of supporting the medical community, Turner organized a bake sale and coin drop at the Ole Miss Student Union, which netted more than $600 for Le Bonheur. And she recently held a Character Band-Aid Drive with Band-Aid donations from the children at First United Methodist Church in Tupelo.
“The Band-Aids will be given to Le Bonheur to use when children get shots in order to make their treatments a little less scary,” Turner said.
Working through her sorority, Phi Mu, Turner has taken advantage of other Le Bonheur fundraising opportunities throughout the year.
“We have an annual Texas Hold ’em Poker Tournament called ‘Hold ’em for the Kids’ as well as a male beauty pageant called ‘It’s Raining Men,'” she said. “Through our efforts, we are able to raise thousands and thousands of dollars to donate to Le Bonheur.”
Seeing the kindness and ability of the doctors and nurses at Le Bonheur instills a passion in her for helping others, she added.
“Having the opportunity to represent the university has afforded me so many wonderful opportunities to be a role model and to further my commitment to community service.”