Devree Guido is pictured in her formal wear for the Rising Star Competition.
Photo Courtesy of Jessica Guido
Devree Guido is a fighter.
By the age of 3, Devree had gotten two liver transplants. In December of last year, at the age of 7, she received a kidney transplant. A few short months later, she is thriving and has just won the Rising Stars Competition sponsored by Miss Oregon Volunteer.
Devree competed in the virtual Rising Stars Competition for children age 0-12. On March 17, Bailey Aldrich, Miss Oregon Volunteer, announced that Devree won every area of the contest and was recognized as Rising Star 2021.
Jessica Guido, Devree’s mother, said, “She won $1,400, and the other half of the money raised will go for scholarships for the Miss Oregon volunteer pageant, which will be July 31, 2021, location TBD. Devree will perform all areas of competition during the miss pageant.”
Devree enjoyed being a part of this competition.
“Her favorite part of competing was her hula dance and walking in her pink dress down the steps,” Jessica Guide said. “She wanted to compete so she could have fun practicing for her videos.”
Since her kidney transplant, Devree has significantly improved.
“She has been feeling great, and her kidney is working perfectly. She has more energy than ever before,” Jessica Guido said. “She has grown over half an inch and gained 10 pounds since her surgery on Dec. 19. As always, we want to thank our angels, Devree’s kidney donor, our liver donor Melissa, and her cousin Cailey for helping us reach this level of health.”
Jessica Guido encourages people to register with United Network for Organ Sharing, an organization that supports transplant recipients and donor families, to be organ donors.
There are still nearly 2,000 children under the age of 18 on the national transplant waiting list.
Having a new kidney has made Devree have the ability to have even more fun.
Jessica Guido said, “Devree said the best part of having her new kidney is she is staying healthy and having lots of fun now that she feels better.”
Sheryl Posness, Executive Director of the Miss Oregon Volunteer program, said, “The Miss Oregon Volunteer Organization, in affiliation with Miss Volunteer America, is a statewide, service-oriented scholarship program that seeks to empower young women across the state of Oregon through educational scholarships and extraordinary opportunities.” She adds, “The Rising Star Competition was developed as a scholarship fundraiser for the Miss Oregon Volunteer Organization.”
This is the first year for the Rising Star Competition.
“This was our first year hosting the competition,” Posness said. “It was originally slated to be in person, but as time progressed, we recognized that a shift to a virtual competition was safer for all involved with the continued pandemic restrictions.”
Miss Oregon Volunteer is one of the many programs striving to improve our community.
“At a time when college debt is over $1 trillion, we have stepped up to offer scholarships to the young women of Oregon. The Miss Oregon Volunteer Organization is currently accepting applications for young women age 13-25 to compete for the title of Miss Oregon Volunteer 2021 and Miss Oregon Teen Volunteer 2021. Details about our scholarship program can be found on our website, missoregonvolunteer.com. Plus, we are pleased to announce that Olivia McCurdy is the current Miss Umpqua Valley Teen Volunteer and that Sarah Blum is the current Miss Douglas County Volunteer.”
The organization appreciated Devree’s performance.
“Each child had the opportunity to compete in several categories; talent, spokesperson, fun-fashion, formal wear, and photogenic,” Posness said. “Our organization did not learn the back story on Devree until after the completion of the competition. As you can imagine her winning all five areas of competition made us feel delighted to see such a spirited little warrior win.”
Jessica Guido is very proud of Devree.
“I am proud of Devree for showing people how to smile when times are hard and to live a life that is optimistic,” she said. “She always sees the glass as half full, and we can all learn from her. This year has been challenging for many people, but one thing we can control is our attitude, and she is living proof that it is possible no matter how hard things may seem.”
Devree is looking and feeling great just months after her kidney transplant.
