Over 300 youth, teachers, family members and friends were on hand at Visalia's Fox Theater on Thursday, May 18th to celebrate the 6th annual Step Up Youth Challenge Red Carpet Awards program.

Over 20 schools were recognized for their hard work on various service-learning projects and each student team was acknowledged for their participation in the seven month long program, which begins in October and concluded in April.  

The Youth Challenge program gives students an opportunity to address an issue or concern on their school campus or within their community, and each project was evaluated based on performance.

All teams who participate in the program receive training on leadership, networking, and help in brainstorming their project. Teams submitted their final project last month and winners were announced at the Step Up Red Carpet even.

The following top performing schools received the following awards:

Middle School Category

$5,000 Best Overall Project - Bartlett Middle School, Porterville
$2,500 Community Collaboration Award - Reagan Middle School, Lindsay
$2,500 Meeting the Need Award - Washington Intermediate School, Dinuba
$2,500 Sustainability Award - Green Acres Middle School, Visalia
$2,500 Impact Award - Divisadero Middle School, Visalia

High School Category

$5,000 Best Overall Project – Orosi High School, Cutler-Orosi
$2,500 Community Collaboration Award – Mt. Whitney High School, Visalia
$2,500 Meeting the Need Award –Eleanor Roosevelt Community Learning Center, Visalia 
$2,500 Sustainability Award – Mission Oak High School, Tulare
$2,500 Impact Award – Accelerated Charter High School, Tulare

Other schools receiving recognition were: Summit Charter Collegiate Academy of Porterville, University Prep High School of Visalia, Valley Oak Middle School of Visalia, El Monte Middle School of Cutler-Orosi, Burton Middle School of Porterville, Strathmore Middle School of Strathmore, Woodlake Valley Middle School of Woodlake, Kennedy Middle School of Lindsay, Wilson Middle School or Exeter, La Joya Middle School of Visalia, Monson-Sultana Elementary School of Monson-Sultana, Valley Life Charter School of Visalia, Washington Middle School of Lindsay. 

Thanks to all the students and advisors who have helped make this year's Step Up Youth Challenge a huge success!