Spirit of Youth Awards Recognize Exceptional Young Alaskans

Anchorage twins among winners

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By Kate McPherson
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Story Created: Mar 19, 2012 at 8:26 AM AKDT

Story Updated: Mar 19, 2012 at 8:26 AM AKDT

ANCHORAGE - Are youth in Alaska portrayed in a positive light?

The Spirit of Youth awards began in 1997 as a way to bring some of the more positive stories into the media, about how young people in our state help others in the community.

This year there were 140 nominations from 40 different Alaskan communities for the Spirit of Youth Award.

The Teen Advisory Council reviews all of the nominations submitted throughout the year in eleven awards categories, and two winners are chosen from each.

Sunday KTVA met the winners of the faith-based service category.

For some parents, it's hard enough to get kids to cook and wash the dishes at home… but Olivia and Michaela Brown not only help out at the house, but also at their church, ChangePoint.

“They just put themselves out there; they really weren't concerned about, ‘well, they're not adults they won't take them seriously,’” said Aida Brown, the twins’ mom.

The Anchorage twins love to experiment with their culinary skills.

“Like if I’m making brownies I might add something to it to see if it works out,” said Olivia.

They enjoy feeding more than 30 church volunteers on Sundays.

“The teams that come in here they don't have to run out get a meal and come back here the meal's already set up for them and it's a much more relaxed atmosphere for them,” said Tom Ruggles, a volunteer at the church.

There's always plenty of food to go around.

“We have to make sure there is a lot, and we usually make sure there's more than one dish,” said Michaela Brown.

And when the twins go shopping for the ingredients, it's not mom that pays.

“You know, they use their own babysitting money to purchase the products they're going to cook with,” said mom Aida.

Olivia and Michaela have just found out that they'll receive the Spirit of Youth Award in the faith-based service category.

The award description says the girls have demonstrated great work ethic. And they hope they can inspire other young people to give up some of their time.

The twins will receive their award on March 24

Olivia and Michaela will be recognized at the Spirit of Youth Awards Banquet at the Anchorage Marriott Downtown.
 

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