Virginia “Ginny” Brautigan Aste of Pahoa has been chosen by the Hawaii State Teacher’s Association for the Friend of Youth Award.
Aste, who works as a substitute teacher for the Kea‘au, Ka‘u and Pahoa Complex, will be recognized April 18 at the 2015 HSTA State Convention at the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu.
Presented by HSTA’s Youth and Civil Rights Committee, the Friend of Youth Award is an annual award honoring a community member who has made a positive impact on the youth of Hawaii by their tireless volunteerism.
The following are excerpts from the nomination letter submitted by Susan Kay Anderson, an HSTA member:
“Aste has spent half her life working to improve civil and human rights in Hawaii as a community organizer and activist. She was the initiator, organizer and grant writer for the Pahoa Skate Park (built in 2009) through Puna Friends of the Parks, a community group which Aste established.
“Young people were part of planning and implementing the Pahoa Skate Park project, and became organizers, planners, and activists through the process.
“She also volunteered at the Young Women’s Christian Association Rape Crisis Center; Dinner in the Park at Hawaiian Beaches Park, which offered free food to people for six years; and the National Organization of Women and the American Association of University Women at the state and local level.
“Aste ran for state office three times as a representative on campaign platforms focused on improving youth and community services.
“Aste received her bachelor’s degree at age 50 from the University of Hawaii at Hilo, majoring in sociology and political science, and her master’s in social work, during which time she organized the Hilo YWCA’s rape response team and worked on domestic violence procedures/protocol with police, as well as starting four women’s centers with job training programs.”
Aste took a moment to reflect on her community activism.
“When I first started being an activist (in 1978), I was wearing a button that said, ‘79 cents’ (of a dollar, a reference to what women earned compared to men),” she said. “Now, there are buttons that say, ‘76 cents.’
“What is the most important thing besides that we love one another? As we go off into the stars … we need to preserve the basis of our democracy. I don’t know what the answers are … but ultimately people make good decisions when they are able to vote.”
