The Boys & Girls Clubs of Alaska teamed up with with Alaska Communications to recognize six Alaska high school students as recipients of their Summer of Heroes program. Each winner received a $1,500 scholarship and recognition in his or her community.
In 2020, Alaska Communications received dozens of nominations for outstanding youth that are making a difference in their local communities. A committee had the task of narrowing that down to five heroes from the community at large and one hero from the Alaska Communications’ Employee Program. Rosalie Cortes, Asya Gipson, Joy Martin, Trevor Morgan, Zoe Nelles, and Ted Tedrick were this year’s winners.
A hero can be any Alaska resident between the ages of 6 and 18 who is making a positive difference in his or her community. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following types of efforts:
- Volunteering or raising funds for a cause;
- Making a difference in school through education or sports;
- Making a significant contribution to his or her community;
- Considering others’ needs before their own, or inspiring others to take action.
One of the recipients, Asya Gipson, told Alaska’s News Source that she appreciates the responsibility of being a Hero: “I wanted to volunteer, to begin with, because I know what it’s like to be helped out. Whether it’s just being tutored, simple things like that. Receiving that kindness is really awesome, and I just want to be able to spread that to my peers and to different organizations that were in-need, especially because of COVID.”
The next nomination window for the Summer of Heroes program will be in Spring 2021.