Arlene is a purpose-driven and ambitious community leader, beauty queen, model, digital content creator, and entrepreneur from Vancouver, British Columbia.
follow arleneAs a successful 4.0 GPA and distinction Human Resources Management graduate, Arlene is a human resource professional who has had work responsibilities spanning across Canada. Arlene has also provided support for human resource and humanitarian projects in the United States. Moreover, Arlene is a budding entrepreneur who is working on establishing her own wellness brand that emphasizes reframing and reclaiming life experiences to enable oneself to “fully embrace all aspects for the better.”
As a food security advocate and educator, Arlene is the CEO and founder of Hunger Heroes Canada; a platform that seeks to educate, advocate, and create tangible change by reducing food insecurity across Canada. While supporting individuals facing homelessness and poverty, Arlene continuously partners with businesses and non-profit organizations to host humanitarian initiatives to reduce food insecurity and spread food hunger awareness.
HUNGER HEROES CANADA
Most recently, I became the CEO and Founder of my own food security platform, Hunger Heroes Canada. It is a platform that seeks to educate, advocate, and create tangible change by reducing food insecurity across Canada. I wanted to take the next step in creating a consolidated place that could be a bridge between those struggling with these hardships and members of our community who want to be part of this movement in making a difference.
I am a Food Security Advocate that specializes as a Food Insecurity Educator while providing support for other humanitarian issues such as homelessness and poverty.
Over the last five years, I have spearheaded, championed, hosted, and supported food security initiatives locally, nationally, and internationally, in partnership with businesses and non-profit organizations.
MORE FROM ARLENE ♡
Any fun facts about yourself that you'd like to share?
Yes! Some fun facts about me include:
- I love adrenaline-filled activities. I have experienced sky-diving, scuba diving, white water rafting, and more exciting activities, but my favourite was scuba diving.
- I am an ASMRtist and have created ASMR digital content such as unboxings, trigger sounds, and mukbangs, which is extremely popular in South Korea.
- One of my creative outlets is through music and I love singing. Currently, I sing on my church’s praise and worship team.
- I love documenting my life in videos and in 2013, I made it my New Years' goal to vlog (video log) every single day of the year. I was able to successfully achieve this goal and even 10 years later, these videos are great memories to look back on.
- I admire Japanese race cars. Their unique builds, aesthetics, and history have always fascinated me. I dream to one day own a Honda Integra Type R in Championship White.
Can you tell us about some of the actions you've taken for your platform?
Absolutely! Some examples of actions I have taken with my platform include, but are not limited to:
- Raising over $2,100+ to feed marginalized individuals in Vancouver’s downtown east side.
- Hosting food drives with the Greater Vancouver Food Bank to provide for 8,500+ clients across Vancouver and its surrounding cities.
- Hosting a food drive with the Richmond Food Bank to collect over 250+ lbs of non-perishable food items and donations.
- Creating and assembling care kits composed of toiletries and food items for individuals facing homelessness and poverty in Vancouver’s Downtown east side.
- Packing 400+ food care kits with Backpack Buddies BC for elementary students across British Columbia who struggle with food insecurity to ensure they have food, snacks, and beverages to consume over the weekend.
- Sorting and packing 350+ fresh produce hampers for families and seniors across Vancouver with City Reach Care Society.
What is your favourite area of competition?
Definitely interview! ☺
What's next for you in pageantry?
It has always been my dream to represent Canada and/or my heritage country, the Philippines, on an international stage and I am working hard to advance to Internationals and proudly represent my country!
What advice would you give someone hoping to become your successor?
First and foremost, congratulations on taking the first step into this new pageant endeavour! Pageantry can be an exciting, life-changing, and rewarding experience. To ensure that you make the most of your experience and “hit the ground running”, here are some sound-bite pieces of advice I have for future delegates and/or my future successor:
Do not be afraid to be authentically yourself. Authenticity seeps into all facets of your life, and when you can showcase who YOU truly are, then your advocacy, passions, morals, and values shine through. The judges want to see who YOU are, not what your family or friends think the judges want to see.
Know what your advocacy is and continuously build your platform. Ensure that you are choosing a cause that you are passionate about or have a personal connection with. This will allow your drive to build this specific platform to come naturally.
Former and current reigning queens, in addition to the Personality Pageants Canada team are amazing individuals who can be an information-rich resource for providing insights into what it is like competing and setting a standard of expectations.
Ensure that you take the time to do your due diligence in your time-management and meeting deadlines. As a titleholder, you are taking on the responsibilities that come with the title. It is essentially a job that you are undertaking, and you will need to meet deadlines, sometimes with little to no notice. Therefore, time-management is a key skill you need to have.
Come into the competition with an open mind, but also a refined mind. Know what you want to accomplish, experience, or leave behind as your own legacy. By coming with an open mind in tandem with a refined mind, you are able to adapt to any changes that may arise.
Arlene's podcast: "General Reminder"
Sometimes all you need is a general reminder, especially in a world that is ever-changing and demands a “hustle and bustle” mentality.
Arlene Manaloto is the founder of the wellness brand, “General Reminder.” It features a podcast hosted by her that emphasizes reframing & reclaiming life experiences to enable oneself to fully embrace all aspects with a silver lining.
The vision and mission of General Reminder is to cultivate a community that is anchored in perseverance and resilience, while also teaching others to be receptive with a willingness to learn, grow, and adapt as they embrace all aspects of life events and experiences with a silver lining. In addition, Arlene strives to create a safe space in which others’ stories, messages, and general reminders can be made known.
Arlene has always advocated that there is always a lesson to be earned, learned, and shared in everything we experience, whether it be good or bad, and this helped with the creation of her wellness brand.
Through “General Reminder”, its weekly podcast episodes, and social media posts, Arlene hopes to use her life experiences, voice, and vulnerability to be your general reminder when you feel like life is just “too much” presently.
New episodes every Monday at 8 AM PST on Spotify to be your “Monday Motivation”! You can also submit a general reminder, topic, or personal story through the submission link in the Instagram bio.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude for taking the time to review my titleholder page and getting to know more about who I am.
If you are ever interested in connecting, partnering with, or sponsoring me for my national competition or an initiative with Hunger Heroes Canada, I would be honored to hear from you. I believe that through collaboration, we can make a positive impact in our communities and beyond, and I am committed to making a difference wherever I can.
As I move forward in this next chapter, I am excited to see what the future has in store for me. I am eager to continue pursuing my passions and to make a meaningful contribution to the world around me.
I look forward to the legacy I will leave behind while we make a positive impact together.
Yours truly,
Arlene Manaloto, Miss Queen Canada 2023