Recent awards and recognitions:

» The U.S. Department of Education has awarded more than $69 million in grants to the University of Hawaii for Native Hawaiian education programs. Seven campuses will benefit in support of programs from pre-school through college and career training, the university announced Wednesday.

UH-Manoa, UH-West Oahu, Leeward Community College, Windward Community College, Honolulu Community College, Kapiolani Community College and Kauai Community College received $60 million in Title III grants for renovation and individual development over the next five years. Additionally, UH-Manoa programs also received nearly $9 million in Native Hawaiian education program grants over the next three years.

"In 2008 the Board of Regents embraced the University of Hawaii’s mission to serve as a model indigenous serving university," UH President David Lassner said in a statement. "These grants individually will advance the priorities on each of our campuses. But across the entire university system, they really represent the opportunity to deliver on that mission and advance our service to Native Hawaiian people, culture and knowledge."

For instance, Windward Community College plans to use its nearly $10 million in grant money to renovate an existing facility to create a Hawaiian-language-based child care facility for infants and toddlers of Windward students. The funds will pay for the renovation and staffing of the child care center.

» Jason Pavia, a teacher at Kaiulani Elementary School, received a $2,000 Unsung Heroes grant from Voya Financial Inc.

Through the program, Voya awards grants to K-12 educators nationwide to recognize innovative teaching methods, creative educational projects, and the ability to positively influence the children they teach, according to a press release.

Pavia won for Worms at Work, designed to develop a school garden consisting of multiple components, such as fruit and vegetable gardens, a Native Hawaiian garden, a green-waste composting system and a vermicast worm system. He began the project last year in his classroom with a small worm bin. This year, Pavia is expanding the vermicast worm system to include about 75 third-grade students. The ultimate goal is to create a large-capacity worm system capable of recycling all the vegetative waste produced by the cafeteria.

Voya, formerly ING U.S., provides retirement plans for educators.

Pavia is one of 100 winners across the country who will receive a $2,000 award, and will now compete for one of the top three prizes — an additional $5,000, $10,000 or $25,000. To learn more about this year’s winning projects, as well as those from previous years, visit unsungheroes.com.

Applications for the 2015 Voya Unsung Heroes awards are being accepted through the website until April 30.