“It is with profound sadness and a heavy heart that we share the passing of one of our beloved delegates, Kadance Fredericksen,” the organization wrote on Instagram Feb. 18. “Our pageant community has lost a beautiful soul—one who was a true light in this world. She was ambitious, driven, kind, and a leader among her pageant sisters.”

In tandem with her pageant career, Kadance had a passion for giving back. In 2017, she established her own nonprofit organization, “Kada’s Promise,” where she collected and donated comfort objects to children in troubling living situations, based on her own experience growing up in an “abusive” home. 

“The only thing that made me feel safe was a single teddy bear that I received as a gift,” Kada wrote in her organization’s mission statement. “I carried him with me from house to house, couch to couch and clutched him tightly in the scariest times. It is from these memories that Kada's Promise was born.”

Kadance added on her nonprofit’s website, “Kada’s Promise is probably my greatest accomplishment to date. It is my life’s story.”