Grace Anderson said her parents and her school have taught her the importance of serving others and that les- son has translated into a well-rounded senior whose volunteerism began when she was in sixth or seventh grade.

“I have been volunteering in my community for a while, but I got more involved my freshman year,” Anderson, 18, a senior at Warren John F. Kennedy High School, said. “What I like about serving my community is being able to have a positive impact on others.”

It is that attitude that got her nominated as one of the Tribune Chronicle’s Twenty Under 20 honorees. The program is co-sponsored by Akron Children’s Mahoning Valley and AVI Foodsystems.

Alyse Consiglio, JFK principal, nominated Anderson for the award.

“I can confidently say that Grace not only serves the community through our school, but also extends her charity through a variety of organizations outside of our school service projects,” Consiglio wrote in her nomination letter.

Anderson is a founding member, and is now secretary, of SOAR, which stands for Serving Others and Rise, a service club at JFK. Through SOAR, Anderson volunteered at the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Festival, Youngstown State University Game Day, a Christmas festival, Rise Against Hunger food packaging event and JFK’s speech and debate tournament.

Beyond the school’s walls, she is actively involved in the Sleep in Heavenly Peace Trumbull County Chapter, where she participates in building beds for children who need a place to sleep. Her job is to sand and stain the wood used to make the beds. She also participates in delivery days, where she puts a bed together in a recipient’s home. For the past two summers, she hosted a bedding drive, collecting more than 150 pieces of bedding each year.

She also is a member of Game Changers, an organization aimed at disadvantaged children. She talks to them about mental attitude, struggles, hygiene and mental health in an effort to help the young people realize they can overcome any challenge they encounter.

Anderson also has been a volunteer at Olympic Dreams Gymnastics since 2016. She said she has volunteered at various clinics, parties and “state meets, as well as helped prepare and decorate crafts and cookies at various events.

She has a 4.285 GPA despite taking honors and AP cours- es, as well as taking classes through College Credit Plus. She is captain of the two-time OHSAA state championship cheerleading team, a member of National Honor Society, speech and debate team, and is part of the stage crew for Kennedy’s theater productions.

She is a state champion in gymnastics and volunteers in her “free time” for the St. Vincent de Paul Society and the Salvation Army.

“While I believe in providing service opportunities for my students, it is heartwarming when there are those who go above and beyond what is just part of our mission here at Kennedy,” Consiglio wrote.