Maille McNicholas, 14, an eighth-grade student at Twin Valley Middle School, is collecting aluminum pop tops from canned soda and other canned beverages as part of a national service project associated with her title as Miss Northeast Jr. High United States 2021. All money generated by the pop top collection will benefit the Ronald McDonald House.

Currently, donation bins for the pop tops are located at Goin' Postal and AJ's Family Pizza, both located in the Morgantown Crossings shopping center on Route 23 near Walmart. Those with large quantities of pop tops can arrange for pickup by contacting Maille at mailles.mission@gmail.com.

Maille will collect donations through July, when the national pageant will be held. The pageant is scheduled to take place from Monday, July 19, through Friday, July 23, at Hershey Lodge in Hershey.

"During the course of national pageant week, they will take all the contestants' tabs and weigh them, and then all of us will take a field trip to the Ronald McDonald House in central Pennsylvania to present them," Maille explained. According to Ronald McDonald House Charities, volunteers take the tabs to a recycling center, where they are paid cash for the aluminum.

Maille has competed in pageants since the age of 8. For this title, she participated virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic. "We applied, sent a resume, a head shot and my platform statement," she said. "(After I won), they mailed us the sash and the crown."

Maille noted that she was particularly interested in this pageant because it is based on community service. "I love being able to walk (the stage) and dress up but if you can't do anything with (the title), what is the point?" Maille said.

Maille was diagnosed with Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome (KTS), a rare vascular condition involving a port wine stain, which is a type of birthmark, and other symptoms. She said the title gives her the ability to represent individuals with vascular birthmarks and promote her platform, Maille's Mission.

"The mission is to spread awareness about (KTS) and raise money for the Vascular Birthmark Foundation," said Maille, who is the global ambassador for the foundation. "(The) program means a lot to me." For more information, readers may visit http://www.facebook.com/mailles.mission.

The condition has not stopped Maille from pursuing her dance hobby. She is a national dance champion and enjoys aerial dance with silks and the trapeze.

"I really want to work at Disney World as a performer," she said of her future career plans. "I have wanted to work there since I was young. Disney is one of my favorite places to go."

For more information about Maille and her community service projects, including the pop top collection, readers may visit http://www.facebook.com/missnortheastjrhighunitedstates2021.