Miss Cleveland 2006 Ansley Reagan will be hosting a benefit concert Tuesday evening for CARE (Community Alliance for Reaching the Elderly) at the North Cleveland Church of God on 335 11th St. N.E.

The concert begins at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free, but donations for the Volunteer Guardianship Program will be accepted.

Miss Reagan has become an advocate for the elderly since enrolling in the volunteer guardian program two years ago. The Southeastern Tennessee Area Agency on Aging and Disability oversees the program which provides volunteer guardians to persons over the age of 60 who have been declared by a court as incapable of making decisions, are financially insolvent and do not have a family member or friend willing or able to be a spokesperson.

Miss Reagan, a 21-year-old senior telecommunications student at Lee University, has enlisted the aid of her classmates for the benefit. Groups performing include the internationally renowned Voices of Lee, the Lee Singers and Power Unlimited.

Former Miss Tennessee and Miss Cleveland Beth Hood Killen will be a special guest.

A well-known area harpist who has performed at numerous venues in the Chattanooga and Cleveland vicinity for the last seven years, Miss Reagan will also be performing during the concert.

Kevin Wallace, the senior pastor at Mountain Meadows Church of God in Ooltewah, will be the emcee.

Miss Reagan, who was the third runner-up at last year’s Miss Tennessee Pageant and will be competing again in June, hopes to raise $10,000 at the benefit to help support the wards enrolled in the Volunteer Guardianship Program.

Miss Reagan said Project CARE was created to encompass all of her programs geared toward aiding seniors as well as the Volunteer Guardianship Program.

Her goals include implementing an Intergenerational Reading Program between the Moccasin Bend Girl Scout Council and the residents of the newly opened Life Care Center Garden Plaza in Cleveland; An Adopt A Grandparent program uniting the Garden Plaza residents with Lee students; A Beauty Day for Seniors which would involve beauty academies providing free services to the elderly in exchange for a donation to the Volunteer Guardianship Program.

Miss Reagan also has requested that Cleveland Mayor Tom Rowland proclaim a Senior Caring Day in recognition of the city’s elderly citizens.

As a guardian, Miss Reagan has witnessed the need her client has for items such as dentures and prescription eyeglasses that are not covered by Medicare or Medicaid, she said.

If Miss Reagan becomes Miss Tennessee, she will champion her CARE mission statewide as a spokesperson for the rapidly growing senior population and the issues affecting them on a daily basis such as housing and health care while striving to maintain their independence.

“Some of the biggest challenges facing the elderly are finding affordable housing on a fixed budget, financial management, making sense of changing healthcare rules and loss of independence.” she said. “These are constant problems with the aging population. With the aid of family, friends and/or volunteers, we can help the elderly lead fuller and more satisfying lives simply by taking time to help in any way we can.”