Pia Wurtzbach winning the Miss Universe 2015 title (Photo : Steve Marcus / Reuters)
"To be a Miss Universe is both an honor and responsibility. If I were to be Miss Universe, I will use my voice to influence the youth and I would raise awareness to certain causes like HIV awareness that is timely and relevant to my country which is the Philippines. I want to show the world, the universe rather, that I am confidently beautiful with a heart."
This is the answer of Pia Wurtzbach at the Question-And-Answer portion of the Miss Universe pageant in 2015 that won her the most prestigious title. What did Pia do in a year? Below are the top five accomplishments of Pia Wurtzbach during her reign as Miss Universe.
Serving meals with God's Love We Deliver
Part of Pia's everyday routine is serving meals to people with severe illness through a non-profit organization God's Love We Deliver based in New York. The organization cooks and home-delivers nutritious, individually-tailored meals to people in the New York City metropolitan area living with severe illness. It is hard to cook meals when you are sick, especially when you have no one to rely on.
Visiting sick children in hospitals
Her beauty and success bring hope and inspiration to sick people. Pia has a soft spot for sick children and visiting them in order to empower them. Pia works tirelessly with Project Sunshine to provide free educational, recreational, and social programs to children facing medical challenges and their families.
HIV/AIDS Awareness
During the Question & Answer portion of the Miss Universe, Pia promised that she will use her voice and influence to bring awareness to HIV/AIDS, which is relevant in the Philippines. She continues to use her social media accounts in increasing the awareness to the sickness.
LGBT support
Pia is also a champion of the LGBT community. She thanked the LGBT fans right after her win and she consoles the victims of Orlando shooting. She renounces terror attacks against the members of the community.
Smile Train
Raising funds for Smile Train has been one of the initiatives that Pia has worked with since very early in her reign. As Pia said when the partnership was announced in January, "As Miss Universe, I look forward to lending my voice and a helping hand to continue to raise awareness for children born with cleft lip and palate in the developing world, including my home country, the Philippines." Pia raised much-needed funds for Smile Train throughout her reign through various fundraising efforts.
Miss Universe 2016 is happening in Manila, Philippines on Jan. 30.
