Royal Duties : Pageants: Contestants for the Miss San Fernando crown have been volunteering time at local hospitals and agencies as a contest requirement.

In pursuit of the Miss San Fernando 1993 crown, Vanessa Arvizu changed bed linens and checked patients at a local hospital.

Lisa Wimberly fed babies and counseled pregnant teens.

And Irma Avelar tutored high-risk students, logged phone calls and vacuumed the carpet at a counseling center.

Arvizu, Wimberly and Avelar are among the 22 contestants who donated eight hours of their time to several nonprofit agencies this month--a requirement for competing in Friday’s pageant.

“When they win by their merits on the inside, they realize how much more power they have than being pretty,” said Letty Bianchi, a former Miss San Fernando who helped coach the contestants. “Being pretty only takes you so far. It’s what is inside that takes you the rest of the way.”

Many of the contestants, who range in age from 17 to 21, say they are vying for the honor because the pageant stresses public service over glamour.

“This doesn’t have anything to do with how tight you wear your dress,” said Arvizu, an 18-year-old senior at San Fernando High School. “It’s based on how much you want to be involved in your community and on how smart you are.”

Community service was added to the pageant’s format in 1987 so that contestants could better understand the needs of the predominantly Latino city of nearly 24,000 people, said Nancy Mayer, a former YWCA director in San Fernando, who helped coordinate the pageant.

“We thought a more pertinent avenue was to have them be more involved in the community,” she said.

Since then, the young women have donated hundreds of hours at San Fernando-area schools, counseling centers and retirement homes. Many select an organization that fits their future career choice.

Arvizu, for example, opted to serve patients at San Fernando Community Hospital because she is studying to be a nurse. She wants to open a medical clinic for low-income families in the city some day.

“It’s a great opportunity for me. I learned a whole outlook about what to deal with in the medical field,” said Arvizu, who visited with elderly patients and monitored vital signs during her two-day assignment.

Avelar, who wants to be a psychologist, signed up to work at El Centro de Amistad with youngsters caught in the throes of gangs and drugs.

“My dream is working with children and gang members and helping them,” said Avelar, 18, who attends continuation school in Pacoima. “I’ve been there; I know how it feels.”

El Centro de Amistad, a mental health and educational services center in San Fernando, proved a popular choice with the contestants. Avelar, who continues to volunteer at the center, was one of eight who donated time there.

“It does help me,” explained Program Director Angel Perez Jr., who runs tutorial and counseling programs in a former church building on Chatsworth Drive. “If I had to hire eight young people, it would be quite a bill. This shows they really have their heart in it.”

Last week the 22 contestants, dressed in evening gowns, dresses and casual dress pants, gathered at a Mission Hills restaurant for personal interviews with the judges. They also earn points for written essays about their volunteerism and for public speaking skills.

Filled with nervous anticipation, the young women gushed about the friends they met and the value of their work at community organizations.

“Win or lose, this is going to be a great experience,” said Lourdes Olivas, an 18-year-old senior at San Fernando High School. “It’s more about what you can do for your community.”