{"id":83417,"date":"2021-02-12T10:20:40","date_gmt":"2021-02-12T15:20:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/?p=83417"},"modified":"2021-02-14T13:57:23","modified_gmt":"2021-02-14T18:57:23","slug":"senator-fred-akshar-continues-akshars-all-stars-student-recognition-program-at-three-local-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2021\/02\/12\/senator-fred-akshar-continues-akshars-all-stars-student-recognition-program-at-three-local-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"Senator Fred Akshar continues \u2018Akshar’s All-Stars\u2019 student recognition program at three local schools"},"content":{"rendered":"

Senator Fred Akshar continued the fourth year of his district-wide \u201cAkshar’s All-Stars\u201d student recognition program by recognizing students at Johnson City High School, Maine Memorial Elementary, and Tioga Hills Elementary. <\/p>\n

Each month, Senator Akshar recognizes local students selected by their school districts in the 52nd Senate District who have shown great leadership, compassion, school spirit or improvement amongst their peers. Due to COVID-19, Senator Akshar recognized the latest round of All-Stars via Zoom.<\/p>\n

\"Senator<\/a>

Senator Fred Akshar held his \u201cAkshar\u2019s All-Stars\u201d student recognition program via zoom with students from Johnson City, Maine Elementary, and Tioga Hills. Photo provided by the Office of Senator Fred Akshar.<\/p><\/div>\n

For each student recognized as an \u201cAkshar All-Star\u201d, the Senator presents them with a t-shirt and a framed certificate.<\/p>\n

From Johnson City High School, Akshar honored senior Ryan Johnson, who is described by her school district as the unsung hero in her school and community. Tied for Valedictorian, of the class of 2021, Ryan is also a student athlete who also \u201ctears it up\u201d on the basketball court and lacrosse. Always willing to do what\u2019s best for everyone else, Ryan volunteers for every community service opportunity that\u2019s offered, stated a press release from the Office of Senator Fred Akshar.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t let the coronavirus be an excuse to not do your work or an excuse to not be a good student or person,\u201d said Johnson in the release, adding, \u201cJust be a good person.” <\/p>\n

From Maine Memorial Elementary, Akshar recognized fifth grader Kylie Chase for being a role model student throughout the pandemic. A fully remote student, Kylie has nonetheless made sure to never miss a zoom class and continues making gains in reading, writing and math skills. When COVID-19 first hit, Kylie and her mom made masks to donate to the community, using her own money to purchase supplies to make them.<\/p>\n

From Tioga Hills Elementary, Akshar recognized fifth grader Ben Cucci for turning tragedy into triumph for his family and his community. Despite being only 10 years old, Ben is the founder and CEO of the nonprofit organization, Nathan’s Butterflies. <\/p>\n

After experiencing the loss of his baby brother Nathan in 2016, Ben and his family wanted to pay it forward with acts of kindness after being on the receiving end during such a difficult time. Ben was only six years old when he lost his brother, but he still had a keen understanding how instrumental his school, his neighborhood, and his Southern Tier community were in helping his family grieve. <\/p>\n

“I wanted to do something to help remember Nathan because only a few people ever got to meet him,” Cucci, adding, “I came up with random acts of kindness and it kept getting bigger.”<\/p>\n

The goal of Nathan\u2019s Butterflies is to spread kindness and to encourage others to do so as well. Ben and his family knew all too well how hope was a healing force for their family. Ben began leaving Nathan\u2019s Butterflies cards and a kind deeds and it spread quickly, even reaching other states and countries. When people \u201cpay it forward\u201d, they share their kind deed through the Nathan\u2019s Butterflies Facebook page. <\/span><\/p>\n

Ben would leave baskets of toys at playground and beaches, leaving quarters in shopping carts for people and more. As the organization grew, Ben and his “Butterfly Crew” have helped provide supplies for his school; kept food pantries stocked and fill his local “Little Free Library” with books. When the COVID pandemic hit, Nathan’s Butterflies utilized grant funding to help provide local essential workers with much-needed supplies. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe kindness inspired and spread by Nathan’s Butterflies have spread across the country and even across the globe,\u201d said Senator Fred Akshar. \u201cWe’re so fortunate to be part of a community that produces kids like Ben, who, at such a young age, has already committed to trying to unite people and spread kindness in his community and around the world. If more people thought like Ben, the world would be a much better place.\u201d<\/p>\n

To learn more about Nathan’s Butterflies and how you can help spread kindness, visit www.nathansbutterflies.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Senator Fred Akshar added, “During these difficult times, I\u2019m truly inspired by the amazing work and service that\u2019s still being done by young people in our community. It\u2019s important that we continue to shine a bright light on these outstanding individuals and let their stories be told. In a time when the nation seems so divided, I\u2019m happy to continue supporting such a great recognition program that shows the best in our young people.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Video of Tioga Hills Elementary All-Stars presentation can be viewed at https:\/\/youtu.be\/uHJEFa5JyP0<\/a>; the video from Johnson City High School is available at https:\/\/youtu.be\/SmP3lhDajEk<\/a>; and the video from the Maine Memorial Elementary All-Stars presentation can be found at https:\/\/youtu.be\/HRMaWkwCGLI<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Senator Fred Akshar continued the fourth year of his district-wide \u201cAkshar’s All-Stars\u201d student recognition program by recognizing students at Johnson City High School, Maine Memorial…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":83418,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-83417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nSenator Fred Akshar continues \u2018Akshar's All-Stars\u2019 student recognition program at three local schools - Owego Pennysaver Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2021\/02\/12\/senator-fred-akshar-continues-akshars-all-stars-student-recognition-program-at-three-local-schools\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Senator Fred Akshar continues \u2018Akshar's All-Stars\u2019 student recognition program at three local schools - 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