2026 AVSA Award Recipients Announced

Celebrating Service, Leadership, and Community Impact

The Austin Chinese-American Network (ACAN) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2026 Austin Volunteer Service Award (AVSA).

Over the past year, ACAN youth and families have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to serving their communities. Through thousands of hours of volunteer work, innovative youth-led projects, and sustained leadership, they have embodied ACAN’s mission of service and cultural enrichment.

This year, we are proud to recognize outstanding achievements in three categories: Individual Volunteer Service Awards, Team Project Awards, and Senior Scholarship Awards.

Individual Volunteer Service Awards

Individual awards are based solely on verified volunteer service hours accumulated between August 1, 2025 and July 31, 2026. All service hours must be verified through GivePulse.

Award requirements vary by age group:

  • Children (Ages 5–10)

  • Teens (Ages 11–15)

  • Young Adults (Ages 16–25)

Recipients will receive a medal and an official certificate.

Gold Award

  • 8 recipients

  • 1,588 total service hours

Silver Award

  • 2 recipients

  • 360 total service hours

Bronze Award

  • 9 recipients

  • 877 total service hours

In total, 19 award recipients contributed 2,825 verified volunteer service hours during the award year.

Team Project Awards

On October 12, ACAN Youth hosted its annual Project Showcase, where five youth teams presented the results of their community impact projects.

Community members can view the presentations on YouTube.

Projects were evaluated by the ACAN Youth Committee based on five criteria:

  • Project initiative and originality

  • Impact on the community

  • Sustainability and continuity

  • Team collaboration and leadership

  • Alignment with ACAN’s mission of service and cultural enrichment

The final rankings were determined by the average score across all evaluation categories.

The results were incredibly close, reflecting the outstanding work of all participating teams.

Winning teams will receive a medal, certificate, and a project grant to further their mission and expand their impact.

Gold Award

Project Rise Together
Project Grant: $1,000

Silver Award

Growing in Grace
Project Grant: $600

Bronze Award

Taste of Hope
Project Grant: $400

Senior Scholarship Awards

The Senior Scholarship Awards recognize graduating high school seniors based on their cumulative volunteer service during the past three years.

This year, three seniors applied and all three demonstrated an exceptional commitment to community service.

Recipients will receive a medal, certificate, and scholarship award.

Distinguished Scholarship Award

Livia Xu

  • 501 total service hours (past three years)

  • $1,000 Scholarship

Merit Scholarship Award

Justin Chen

  • 419 total service hours

  • $600 Scholarship

Honor Scholarship Award

Grace Bai

  • 261 total service hours

  • $400 Scholarship

Award Ceremony

Please join us in celebrating this year’s recipients!

January 3, 2027
3:00 PM
Spicewood Public Library

Award recipients, families, friends, and community members are all welcome to attend.

Looking Ahead

ACAN congratulates all award recipients and project teams for their dedication and service.

We encourage all members of our community—youth and adults alike—to continue serving others and advancing ACAN’s mission of community service and cultural enrichment.

Volunteer service not only strengthens our community; it also develops leadership, character, empathy, and a lifelong commitment to making a difference.

For award definitions, eligibility requirements, and application details, please visit the ACAN Presidential-Level Volunteer Service Award (AVSA) webpage.

Reminder: AVSA recognizes volunteer service hours from all qualifying organizations, not just ACAN-sponsored projects. However, all service hours must be verified through GivePulse before the annual application deadline of August 31.

Congratulations once again to all of our 2026 award recipients! We look forward to seeing the impact you will continue to make in the years ahead.