The Hutto Education Foundation and Hutto ISD board of trustees recognized 20 students who were IMPACT grant recipients at the board's Nov. 21 meeting. Those awarded with a certificate from the HEF and a superintendent's coin were acknowledged for their "excellence in academics, character and community," HEF Director Lizzy Samples said in a Nov. 24 email to Community Impact Newspaper.

The Student Leadership IMPACT Grant Program is for students grades K-12 and is designed to promote HISD students' leadership skills, both on and off campus. The program aims to enhance HISD's "vision of inspiring excellence in academics, character, and community," according to HEF's grant description.

Programs eligible for grant funding include those related to student life, health and safety, environmental issues, peer advising and assisting those in need, per HEF. Eight grants in total were selected this year, with 20 students participating in the entries. The chosen grants included funding for an on-campus food pantry as well as care packages sent to children in the hospital, Samples said.

"All grants showed leadership skills, working as a team, and making an impact in the community, district or school campus," Samples said.