Miss Jefferson County’s Teen 2024 Isabelle Smith-Pounds shows an example of the hygiene bags donated to classrooms by her nonprofit, Take Care USA, Inc., in the War Memorial Building on Saturday. Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — Miss Jefferson County’s Teen 2024 Isabelle Smith-Pounds may already be preparing for her next round of competition on the state level — the Miss West Virginia’s Teen Competition in June — but that hasn’t kept her from devoting her time to doing good in her community.

On Saturday, Smith-Pounds could be found in the War Memorial Building, selling bedazzled earrings to raise funds for her nonprofit organization, Take Care USA, Inc.

“I bought in bulk different types of earrings and a ton of gems, and then gemmed every inch of them, as much as I could,” Smith-Pounds said, noting her booth space was donated by Shepherdstown Valentine’s Handmade Market organizer Michele Kwiatkowski. “I’ve gemmed a lot of other things before, including a pair of boots that I gemmed the entire upper part of the boot. But today’s just earrings — the boots take a lot longer to complete!”

The proceeds from selling these items will be used to fund her nonprofit’s work, providing “Take Care” bags of hygiene products for elementary schools throughout the state.

“I made about a hundred-some dollars today. That’s pretty decent, compared with other fundraisers I’ve done before,” Smith-Pounds said.

Smith-Pounds founded the nonprofit in 2021, when she was 15-years-old, and then incorporated it two years later, in 2023. She noted that, as part of each donation, she reads her short book on the importance of community involvement to a classroom and then delivers Take Care bags to the school nurse, who then distributes them to students in need.

“Take Care USA has grown a lot more than I thought it would. I’ve been able to donate thousands of items to schools across the state,” Smith-Pounds said. “It’s been proven that 73 percent of children across West Virginia don’t have a lot of access to self care items, so I decided that that was something I wanted to make a difference about.”

This nonprofit was, in fact, not the first community-minded effort Smith-Pounds has started.

“It stemmed from the fact that I like to help in my community,” Smith-Pounds said. “When I was eight, I started Crafts by Kids for a Cause. Me and my brother made Christmas ornaments that represented the different types of cancer. We raised funds for my grandfather, who had cancer. As it grew, I started Hands Healing Hearts, which is encouraging youth to go out into the community to do things. From that, I decided I wanted to start a nonprofit. I started realizing that there was a need for children to be helped in the community.”

After being crowned Miss Jefferson County’s Teen 2024, Smith-Pounds said she noticed an increase in opportunities for her to reach out to further children in need — a trend she hopes will continue in the future.

“However the state competition goes, my goal is to be able to implement Take Care bags in each county across the state,” Smith-Pounds said. “I want to be able to make a difference in every county that I can. So far, I’ve been able to make it through all of the Eastern Panhandle and a number of schools outside of it.”

Donations can be made, by messaging Take Care USA on Facebook.