250 for 250

One minute for every year of American freedom. One month to give it back.

THE CHALLENGE

In July 2026, America Turns 250. How Will You Celebrate?

Not with just fireworks. Not with just a cookout. With service.

The 250 for 250 Pledge is a challenge to every titleholder, ambassador, and person across North Carolina — and beyond — to dedicate 250 minutes of volunteer service in July 2026. One minute for every year of American freedom. Just over four hours. In the month our nation celebrates its birthday.

This pledge is in honor of the Miss America Organization's national alliance with America250, the nonpartisan organization established by Congress to lead the commemoration of our nation's Semiquincentennial. Through the America Gives initiative, 2026 is on track to become a record-setting year of volunteer service nationwide.

250 minutes is one senior community visit. One afternoon at a food bank. One veteran recognition visit. You can do this in a single day or spread it across the month. Either way, you are making July mean something beyond the Fourth.

"The most patriotic thing you can do in the month America turns 250 is spend it serving the people who made those 250 years possible."

🇺🇸 A MESSAGE FRom ME

Why I Created This Pledge and Why I Need You to Join Me

Hi. I am Taylor Foley, Miss Mount Holly 2026, a preliminary towards Miss North Carolina. I'm a S.M.I.L.E. Initiative founder, and a woman who has been part of the Miss America Organization for twenty years. I started in the organization as a seven-year-old Carolina Princess.

I wanted to initiate the 250 for 250 Pledge because I believe that the best way to celebrate this country is to serve the people inside it. My community service initiative is called S.M.I.L.E. | Sharing Moments, Inspiring, & Loving Elders, built on one simple belief: our elders deserve to be seen, celebrated, and connected..Not in the abstract. Not from a distance. In the rooms where they live. At the tables where they sit. Beside the veterans who fought for the 250 years we are celebrating and are now spending their final chapters in communities that do not get enough visitors.

Through my S.M.I.L.E. initiative I have spent years visiting senior residential communities and memory care wings across North Carolina, bringing music, leading Music Bingo, sitting beside Alzheimer's patients. I have watched a veteran's face transform when someone sat down beside him and said: thank you for your service. Tell me your story.

Those moments are America. Not the fireworks, though I love those too. The people. The stories. The sacrifice. The quiet dignity of someone who gave everything for a country that is now celebrating 250 years of what they made possible. This work is the center of my life. And in America's 250th year, I want to mobilize every titleholder and every willing heart in North Carolina to join me in it.

250 minutes. Just over four hours. In the month of July. That is all I am asking. Visit a senior. Honor a veteran. Serve at a food bank. Record a story. Mentor a young person. Show up for someone who built the country you are celebrating, and let them know they have not been forgotten.

I am pledging my 250 minutes. Will you pledge yours? 🇺🇸🤍

HOW IT WORKS

Four Steps. 250 Minutes. One Incredible Month.

Sign the pledge below

Your name, your commitment. This is your declaration of service.

Complete 250 minutes of service in July

Break it up however works — one afternoon, several short visits, a full day. The only rule is that it happens in July.

Share your commitment and your service

Download your personalized pledge graphic after signing. Post it. Use #250for250 and #America250 every time you share your service. Tag @MissMountHollyNC.

Earn your 250 for 250 recognition

Those who complete their 250 minutes will receive a 250 for 250 Service Completion Graphic to Share — recognition that in the month America celebrated its birthday, you celebrated by serving.

🇺🇸 OFFICIAL PLEDGE

Take the 250 for 250 Pledge

In honor of America's 250th anniversary · July 2026

I pledge to dedicate 250 minutes of volunteer service in July 2026, one minute for every year of American freedom, to the communities, organizations, and people who need my time, my presence, and my heart. In the month our nation celebrates its 250th birthday, I commit to celebrating it the way it deserves: by serving.