• Sophia Kellstrom, former Miss Gastonia, was crowned Miss North Carolina and will compete for Miss America. • Kellstrom founded the non-profit Pennies for Heaven at a young age to combat child hunger. • Kellstrom will represent North Carolina at the Miss America 2026 competition in Orlando, Florida.

Sophia Kellstrom, formerly Miss Gastonia, was recently crowned Miss North Carolina.

Now, she is preparing to represent the Tar Heel State on stage while competing for the title of Miss America.

According to Kellstrom, she initially got into pageantry as a way to expand her network as a non-profit organizer.

At just 6 years old, Kellstrom began collecting change anywhere she could find it. With the help of some friends, she said she was quickly collecting enough change to feed an entire

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