Residents of Hickory House Nursing Home were able to enjoy some festive Christmas decorations this holiday season after a group of local pageant queens, including Maille McNicholas, a ninth-grader at Twin Valley High School, decorated outdoor trees at the facility and painted the windows with holiday images.

In addition to Maille, who was crowned Miss Jr. High United States 2021 last September, participants included Sydney Gonzalez, American Royal Beauties (ARB) Miss Eastern Pennsylvania Preteen; Jane Rinnier, International United Miss (IUM) Pennsylvania Princess; Macie Bazella, Miss Maryland Jr. High; Anna Rinnier, Miss Pennsylvania Jr. High; and Emilee Koch, IUM Miss Pennsylvania Jr. Teen.

The girls, nicknamed "pageant sisters," visited Hickory House on Dec. 5 to complete the community outreach project. "We dropped off cards for the senior citizens that were hand signed by each of the girls," said Maille. "Then we decorated two trees outdoors and we did window painting with (images) of Christmas trees and stockings."

The girls met through a Facebook page created by Maille's mother, Megan. Megan is also friends with Jennifer Dunbar, who works at Hickory House and arranged the visit.

This is the second time that the pageant sisters have visited Hickory House to decorate for Christmas. Maille and a group of girls also distributed valentines and painted Valentine's Day messages on the windows at the nursing home last February. On all of these occasions, the girls had to remain outside because of COVID-19 restrictions.

"We had one resident - Margie - who we knew from the last time. She was watching us through the window, and we took a photo with her," Maille pointed out.

In addition to her efforts at Hickory House, Maille took part in the Wreaths Across America project on Dec. 18 by placing wreaths on the graves of military members at the cemetery at Glen More United Methodist Church.

She also held a birthday toy drive to mark her 15th birthday on Dec. 18. The toys drive benefited the children of the Comprehensive Vascular Anomalies Program at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). She distributed the gifts at CHOP on Dec. 21.

Maille, who serves as a Global Ambassador for the Vascular Birthmarks Foundation, 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. Her role as pageant queen allows her to represent individuals with vascular birthmarks and promote her platform through Maille's Mission. For more information, visit http://www.facebook.com/mailles.mission.