The Grand Canyon State Gridiron Club -- GCSGC -- has announced Milan Coraggio-Sewell, junior and tennis player at Phoenix Country Day School in Paradise Valley, as recipient of the 2022 Impact Award.

Recognized for her work as CEO of Boxed Up Project, the award will be presented to Coraggio-Sewell at the Ed Doherty Award Luncheon on Dec. 17, according to a press release. 

The Impact Award honors Arizona high school student athletes demonstrating the most impactful leadership through community service. Coraggio-Sewell faced a tragic loss of her childhood best friend at six-years-old.

“I was too young to understand what had happened. I didn’t know how to express what I was feeling and kept everything boxed up inside me, which I now know is not a healthy way to grieve and heal,” Coraggio-Sewell said in the release.

“All I knew was that I was sad and confused, and felt empty. A few years later when I lost two of my grandparents, I went through the same cycle of emotions and loneliness. I felt like no one understood my pain because I didn’t even understand it myself.”

During the past year, she channeled her experiences of loss and her love for volunteerism to form Boxed Up Project, which shares the message that youths struggling with grief and loss are not alone. The nonprofit organization produces toolboxes to help ages 5-17 “unpack their grief,” the relase stated.

Coraggio-Sewell works with accredited grief experts to curate the boxes containing items such as books, comfort cards, journals, art supplies, photo albums, stuffed animals, fun activities, and an instruction guide on how and when to use the items.

The boxes also include resources for adults to further support kids, noted the release.

According to National Grief Awareness, one in five children will experience the death of someone close to them by age 18, the release stated, adding children with unresolved grief are at risk for depression, anxiety and even suicide.

Boxed Up Project collaborates with organizations that specialize in helping children and their families heal. To date, Boxed Up Project has provided 500 boxes to children in need.

“Milan plays the important role as a mentor and natural leader to her teammates. It is not surprising to me that she is a dedicated contributor off the court as well,” stated Jerry Keever, Varsity Girl’s Tennis Coach. 

“A teacher and coach’s responsibility are to help young people like Milan and her teammates create an environment that is conducive to their success. I am in awe of Milan’s interpretation of the qualities that she has learned through athletics, and how she has translated these lessons to benefit other people’s lives.”

A student-athlete, Coraggio-Sewell’s 2021 overall record was 17-1, while maintaining standing as a high-performing student who also regularly volunteers in her community. She is a nationally ranked USTA athlete, the release stated, adding Boxed Up Project is raising money to fulfill 3,000 boxes.

For more information: boxedupproject.org.

More information about GCSGC and the Ed Doherty Award Luncheon: gcsgridiron.com.