Writer Joseph J. Airdo // Photography by Loralei Lazurek

While growing up, Molly Budhiraja never really understood the fascination with purses demonstrated by the women in her family.

“Ever since I was little, my mom has had an array of beautiful purses,” Budhiraja says. “My grandmother would [also] bring the most extravagant purses when she came to Arizona from India. Obviously, these extremely colorful purses were not the most practical ‘going-out’ or ‘grocery-shopping’ purses; but they were the perfect display purses.”

Though she did not understand their appeal, Budhiraja came to associate purses with the love that her grandmother has for her as well as the beautifully vibrant cultural background from which she comes.

“But as I got older, I began to understand,” she adds. “I have seen my mom associate many of her purses with certain memories. ‘Molly, this was the purse I had in the hospital when you were born.’ ‘Molly, this was my purse when I graduated medical school.’ It is beautiful how such a small item can take a person back to their greatest memories and remind them of their best times.”

This winter, Budhiraja got to tap into those memories and associations as she lent a hand — and her shoulder — to Anthem Giving Circle ahead of the nonprofit organization’s annual Purses for a Purpose event, which raises money to be returned to the community in the form of individual grants as well as donations to schools and organizations.

Set for Tuesday, Feb. 6 at Ironwood Country Club, the fundraiser — which debuted in 2010 and boasts a different theme each year — will feature a number of new and gently used purses that can be won by attendees via raffles and auctions. All proceeds benefit Anthem Giving Circle’s various charitable efforts, which include providing financial assistance to those struggling to pay for medical bills, rent, utilities, home and automotive repairs and emergency expenses.

More than 240 people attended last year’s sold-out Purses for a Purpose event, during which about $45,000 was raised — a total that immediately inspired Anthem Giving Circle to adopt this year’s goal and theme. Hoping to hit $50,000, the nonprofit organization is asking attendees to dust off their poodle skirts and saddle shoes for a 1950s-inspired fundraiser.

Having been named Miss Peoria’s Teen this fall through Miss Valley of the Sun, a preliminary of Miss Arizona and Miss America, Budhiraja and the newly crowned Miss Scottsdale, Tiffany Ellington, participated in a Purses for a Purpose preview as Anthem Giving Circle invited them to model some of the handbags up for grabs during this year’s fundraiser — as well as some fashions from 70 years ago.

My Wish for My Community
A 17-year-old high school senior, Molly Budhiraja found Miss Valley of the Sun Scholarship Organization while looking for ways to step out of her comfort zone.

“Before this competition, my only experience was watching over-dramatized scenes from movies,” says the Phoenix resident, noting that she quickly discovered that pageant participants are far more intelligent, driven, passionate and stylish than their stereotypical cinematic counterparts. “I decided to participate in the local competition and [found it to be] such an amazing experience to showcase my passion: fighting youth apathy.”

Bearing witness to Phoenix’s largest homeless encampment, “The Zone,” during her freshman year of high school, Budhiraja’s determination to make a difference became the first domino in what would eventually become her community service initiative as Miss Peoria’s Teen.

“It was freezing, yet families were in shorts, shivering in the harsh cold,” Budhiraja says. “I needed to help in any way I could. With community support, I collected 22 moving boxes worth of warm clothing and blankets and created 200 hygiene kits from saved birthday money.”

When her donation drive was featured on the local news, other teens began reaching out to offer their assistance. It was then that Budhiraja realized that Arizona’s youth could greatly benefit from the creation of a simple, streamlined process to identify volunteer opportunities in their community.

My Wish for My Community was born.

“I got to work organizing remote opportunities to combat geographical barriers, partnering with local organizations to remove age restrictions and, most importantly, creating a space where teens can find community through service,” says Budhiraja, whose self-coded online platform now has more than 90 active users who have logged more than 2,000 service hours.

“My organization’s success is not measured by profitability, but rather by the impact left on humanity: 2,000-plus collected military gratitude cards, thousands of new items donated to Arizona’s most vulnerable populations and rotating monthly volunteer opportunities.”

As Miss Peoria’s Teen, Budhiraja has been able to further propel My Wish for My Community’s mission through inspiration.

“At each event with a crown and sash, I have inspired so many children to get involved and start their own chapters of My Wish for My Community,” Budhiraja says. “I have also appointed wish ambassadors to lead across Arizona, forming partnerships, running drives and mobilizing youth in their communities.”

She has also met with community leaders, including Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs’ Commission on Volunteerism and Service, to present her recommendations on increasing youth volunteerism, theorizing that general apathy amongst teens can be solved by elevation through leadership.

“Peer-to-peer youth inspiration is a genuine phenomenon,” Budhiraja says. “My Wish for My Community is a testament to our young generation’s power to create limitless change and my commitment to [the initiative] has grown my identity as an innovator.”

With hopes to next innovate a system for health equity, she plans to immerse herself in the healthcare ecosystem after high school while also studying finance and history in college.

“Through the Miss Valley of the Sun organization and Miss America Opportunity, I look to continue being an example for our youth to follow their passions and integrate them within our community,” says Budhiraja, who paints abstract works in the acrylic medium and creates historical documentaries during her free time. “There are so many ways to volunteer: artistically and musically, and as Miss Peoria’s Teen, I will continue mobilizing youth to create meaningful change.”

Literacy for Life
Born in Minnesota and having grown up on a farm in Indiana, Tiffany Ellington moved to Arizona during high school and has called Scottsdale her home ever since. Before being crowned the current Miss Scottsdale, she became Miss Phoenix in the first class of the Miss Valley of the Sun team in 2022 and Miss North Phoenix in 2023.

“I decided to compete with the Miss America organization four years ago, after being inspired as a young girl by anyone wearing a crown and sash,” says Ellington, whose hobbies include working out, sewing, writing and reading — the last of which directly correlates to her chosen community service initiative, Literacy for Life.

“I loved reading as a child and I love the impact that literacy has. Reading proficiency in the third grade has a direct impact on graduation rates and, thus, the quality of one’s life [as well as] future generations [of lives].”

Ellington’s initiative is three-pronged: expand, educate and excite. She is hoping to expand literacy by increasing access to books through her involvement with the nonprofit Kids Need to Read; educate the community about the importance and impact of literacy through social media; and excite young readers through virtual and in-person storytimes at local libraries.

As she looks forward to continuing to represent her hometown at Miss Arizona this summer, Miss Scottsdale reflects on the positive impact that giving back to her community through service has had on her life and the many lessons it has taught her.

“A community is built on the strength of its members,” notes Ellington, who earned her bachelor’s degree in digital audiences from Arizona State University in 2020 and recently completed her MBA from Western New Mexico University courtesy of a full-ride scholarship she received through the Miss America program.

Like Budhiraja, Ellington appreciates the opportunity to partner with Anthem Giving Circle to help advance its charitable efforts and tap into the childhood memories she has of purses.

“When I was little, I had a little red purse that I brought with me to church,” says Ellington, noting that she rarely left home without it. “A purse has so much style and grace to it and says so much about your personal brand. A girl can never have too many purses.”

Purses for a Purpose co-chair Rhonda Van Dyke agrees.

“My first and fondest memory of a purse centers on my paternal grandmother,” Van Dyke says. “She was always stylish and well-dressed, especially for church. Her handbag always matched her shoes and she would often let me carry it. I could always count on Grandma to have whatever I needed in her purse — a tissue, lip balm, a piece of candy or [a stick of] gum.”

Van Dyke adds that, at Images Arizona’s press time, Anthem Giving Circle had donated $49,457 to its local neighbors in need in 2023. That figure includes $36,357 in direct assistance to families, $2,200 to food pantries, $1,400 to Foothills Food Bank and Resource Center’s holiday gift-giving and back-to-school programs and $11,000 in Walmart gift cards to area schools.

“It has always been important to me to do what I can to make a difference in the community, and I have found that is what all of the ladies who are members of Anthem Giving Circle do,” Van Dyke says. “One of my favorite quotes is, ‘We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.’ Anthem Giving Circle embodies this spirit.”

Purses for a Purpose
Tuesday, Feb. 6 // 5–8 p.m. // Ironwood Country Club // 41551 N. Anthem Hills Drive, Anthem // $70; raffle tickets are 5 for $20 or 15 for $50 // anthemgivingcircle.com