Worcester, MA According to Beacon Communities, an industry leader in affordable, market and mixed-income property development, two young residents of its Stratton Hill Park Apartments community have won prizes in the National Affordable Housing Management Association’s (NAHMA) Drug-Free Kids Calendar contest. This year, the association challenged contestants to create a design within the subtheme “Healthy is Happy: Nutrition and Fitness Propel Us Forward.”

“Each year, we try to identify ways to promote the calendar contest and support our young residents to submit artwork,” said Annie De Los Santos, senior resident services coordinator at Stratton Hill Park Apartments. “To aid in this process, we hosted a Calendar Camp and provided all artwork materials. We are so proud of our residents for their outstanding achievement.”

Stratton Hill residents Esme Fordjour and Skye Roberson both won prizes in this year’s contest. Fordjour, a ninth grader, won the grand prize out of hundreds of submissions. Her design will become the cover of NAHMA’s 2023 calendar. In addition, she has won an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C. for a future NAHMA Biannual Top Issues in Affordable Housing Conference and a $2,500 scholarship from the NAHMA Educational Foundation.

Roberson was chosen as one of the national winners of the contest. Her design will also be featured in NAHMA’s calendar, and she has been awarded $1,000 from the NAHMA Educational Foundation Board for her continuing education.

“We are incredibly excited for our young residents and this special achievement,” said Aviva Rothman-Shore, Beacon’s senior vice president of community engagement. “Esme and Skye are both exemplary young people who are leaders within their community, and we could not be more thrilled that they have been honored in this special way.”