Catriona Gray Reunites With The Kids Of Young Focus, A Foundation Where She Used To Volunteer

After flitting from courtesy call to courtesy call and sashaying from parade float to parade float, Catriona Gray made her most important courtesy call today. Well, it was more like an authentic homecoming, really, because she finally got to visit the kids at the Young Focus for Education and Development Foundation Inc. in Tondo.

The kween was so moved that her Miss Universe win has become a win that she can share with people who matter so much to her. Catriona had been a volunteer for the Young Focus Foundation for years, so being able to help them out is on her beauty-queen bucket list. She got emotional during her visit as she doled out queen hugs to the children. Catriona posted: “I am so grateful and proud to learn today that since winning Miss Universe, my Young Focus family has received amazing amounts of support. So much so that the entire financial needs for the year of 2019 has been covered. Thank you to all who have and continue to support the amazing work that they do!”

Even before going into pageantry, long before her lava walks, her back-to-back tribute celebrations, and her well-deserved crown, the Miss Universe winner was already a staunch supporter of children. She would volunteer her weekends, spend time with the kids, teach them, and even participate in community projects and clean-up drives.

Note that these throwback photos date back as far as three years ago, long before the fanfare of Catriona’s Miss Universe stardom. The queen’s advocacy for children always sprung from her core, and wanting to help kids was actually one of her key motivations for getting into pageantry.

Catriona knew that she wanted to call attention to the plight of children, and in her own way, be able to contribute to making their days brighter and their lives better. In her caption on her post during today’s visit, Catriona adds: “We’re not only looking for the silver lining but working together to create a silver lining for our country's children.”

In a recent interview on ABS-CBN’s Magandang Buhay, the queen even got weepy when they showed some messages for her from the kids at Young Focus. Catriona knows that there’s a long way to go, but she remains focused on the kids...all with the weight and power of a Universe crown.

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