Lois Barber, organizer of Newtown’s Beautiful Baby Contest, thinks there is something special about the fact that Giavanna Dentrice was the first baby entered into this year’s contest, was featured in the Number One spot from Day One, was the first baby featured to represent the contest, and after all that, came in First Place in the contest.
To top it off, Giavanna will be one year old on July 8.
While Giavanna is indeed a beautiful baby, there are a few other reasons why she did so well in the contest, which was really a fund raiser for an organization that builds homes for veterans who were severely handicapped in the war in Iraq. “My father is handicapped and I know how important it is for the house to be properly equipped,” Giavanna’s mother, Mary Dentrice said.
Mary’s parents encouraged their families and friends to vote for Giavanna and to further the cause. “They reached out at church, at work and even their local pizza place made a substantial donation,” she said.
There were 50 babies involved in the contest, many of whom Barber recruited at last year’s Labor Day Parade that took place on Columbus Day, due to the major storms.
This spring, Barber took the board featuring all 50 photos of the babies to the Duck Race in Sandy Hook, and the contest took off from there.
The fundraiser raised $4,000 that will go towards the construction of a home for Sgt. Earl Granville, who lost a leg in the war in Iraq. One donor sent a Barber check for $500 and Barber’s daughter raised another $1,700 by selling a piece of her artwork on-line.
“They broke ground two weeks ago and will begin building the home this week in Lackawanna , PA.,” Barber said. “I try to help everyone understand that this is a fundraiser for a great project. It’s so much fun, and so many people were so generous, and it is all tax deductible.”
Barber said that all of the families involved will be invited to march in this years Labor Day Parade.
Hope you have a wonderful 4th of July!