Annual awards honor non-profit professionals in memory of slain youth leader Dawnn Jaffier

BOSTON – A special ceremony was held Tuesday in Boston to honor the legacy of a murdered youth leader.

In 2014, 26-year-old Dawnn Jaffier was shot and killed at Boston's Caribbean Festival.

This year's Light of Dawnn awards, highlighting non-profit professionals, went to Ashley Clavel from EVkids, Rosemary Connelly from Italian Home for Children, and Nathaniel Mclean-Nichols of Center for Teen Empowerment.

"These places that are just bright lights that you don't hear about typically, unless something goes wrong, in the newspaper," Jim Klocke, CEO of the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network said. "But stuff's going right at the magnitude of 100 every day. And these are the people who are making that happen."

Three high school seniors with a passion for service also received a $5,000 scholarship. Armani Baez Castillo from Marblehead High School, Kayla Germain from Boston Community Leadership Academy, and Djovanny Dominique from Boston Green Academy were the scholarship recipients.

The Light of Dawnn awards are now in their ninth year.