Sen. Witkos Honors Young Activist Fighting Against Hunger

Kelsey Dube presents check to Foodshare’s Interim President (Left to right: Christine O’Rourke, Interim President of Foodshare; Kelsey Dube; Kevin Witkos)

Hartford – State Senator Kevin Witkos (R-Canton) recognized Canton student Kelsey Dube for her outstanding fundraising efforts in support of Foodshare. Dube, a 14 year old high school freshman who currently holds the title of USA National Miss Connecticut Jr. Teen, raised $500 this spring by compiling and selling a cookbook to benefit the local food bank. Sen. Witkos presented her with a citation last week recognizing her work.

“Kelsey has demonstrated incredible leadership, creativity and hard work to organize this unique fundraiser all on her own,” said Sen. Witkos. “She is truly a role model for young people who has dedicated herself to community service to fight hunger in her local community and across the state. I applaud her continued efforts to better our community and help others.”

Senator Witkos presents citation to Kelsey Dube honoring her work fighting hunger and homelessness in Connecticut

Kelsey wrote ‘Pageant Friends and Family Cookbook’ by collecting recipes from people related to the pageant industry nationwide and working with G&R Publishing to create the book. Her cookbook project was in line with her pageant platform ‘Hunger and Homelessness in Connecticut.’

In addition to her work for Foodshare, Kelsey is a volunteer at the Christian Fellowship Center’s soup kitchen in Bristol and was a participant in the Point In Time Count at ImmaCare in Hartford.

“I started volunteering at the soup kitchen and knew early on that I wanted to do more,” Kelsey said. “There are so many types of people who are hungry in Connecticut and need assistance. Examples are the elderly, homeless, veterans, those suffering from mental illness and substance abuse, and families who don’t quite have enough money to make ends meet. Putting the cookbook together raised money to help and it also got the pageant community excited about sharing their recipes. I received recipes from contestants, titleholders, photographers, hair/makeup artists, coaches, directors, and much more! Foodshare can feed someone for $1 a day so it makes me happy to know that my donation can feed someone for over a year! I’m looking forward to continuing my work with Foodshare and helping in other ways.”

“We are thrilled that Kelsey chose to benefit Foodshare with this project, and we hope we can count on her continued involvement,” said Christine O’Rourke, Foodshare’s Interim President. “One in five kids are hungry in Greater Hartford, but we have the power to change that – and kids listen to their peers, so engaging youth is critical to our success.”