ROANOKE (WSLS 10) - A lot of adults make it their life's mission to meet the education needs of the next generation, but a group of local students has taken it upon themselves to help the basic needs of their peers.
This year's Red Cross Education Hero Award goes to Roanoke City Public School's STAR Council.
For a year, the group has worked to fight student homelessness.
STAR Council stands for students taking action in Roanoke.
The group has sold t-shirts, hosted a pancake breakfast, and a chili dinner, raising thousands for their peers.
"These are kids we go to school with every day, these are kids we talk to, we play sports with, we play games with, we sit in class with and you never know the kid in class that's the class clown could be going home to a shelter, could be sleeping on a bench, you just don't know," explained Reese Betton, a senior at Patrick Henry High School.
"The job is not over. There are still students out there who are homeless and we still need to help get them shelter as well, so they can have the same high school experience than I do," said Mark Randolph, a junior at William Fleming High School.
Betton says she cried when she learned they were receiving the Red Cross Education Hero Award.
She hopes to expand the group to Virginia Western when she attends there in the fall.
The STAR Council raised about $10,000 this school year, that's up from $8,000 in the 2015-2016 school year.
If you would like to attend the Red Cross Celebration of Heroes Breakfast it's Tuesday, March 28th. Click this here to find out more.