Sammi-Jo Danze Remains Fixture at American Girl Fashion Show

A decade and a half ago, when Sammi-Jo Danze was getting set to take part in her first American Girl Fashion Show for the Ronald McDonald House of Southern New Jersey, she had a chance to tour through one of the house’s facilities to see how she’d be helping sick kids her own age.

It was something that left a lasting impression on Danze, who was just 11 at the time, that would fuel her passion to stay involved in the fashion show, from model to announcer to eventually one of the organizers for the weekend-long event.

“I just instantly fell in love everything the house stood for,” she said.

While Danze’s on the board of the show now, she remains hands-on with the fashion show, now overseeing the team of announcers and taking charge of the doll salon backstage—yes, even the dolls get a bit of pampering before going on the catwalk.

Teddy Thomas, executive director of the Ronald McDonald House of Southern New Jersey, called Danze a key player in the annual event, and a person they can count on time and again.

“She is a wonderful asset—a very talented young lady,” Thomas said.

, with hundreds volunteers pulling it all together at in Haddonfield.

More than 100 girls between 5 and 12 years old will participate in the 15th edition, as they walk the runway to a narrated history of both the dolls and the country.

While Danze might not be out in front of the crowd this weekend, she’s taken that experience as a young girl and parlayed it into a successful pageant career. She competed for Miss New Jersey last year, and is the reigning Miss New Jersey United States—a far cry from the shy girl who had never been up in front of a crowd 15 years ago.

“I have gained so much self-confidence,” she said

And it all started with her first trip down the runway in that first American Girl show.