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Boardman students jump rope to benefit the American Heart Association
Students raise funds for national program
BOARDMAN
Students at Stadium Drive School spent a lot of time jump-roping this week, but it wasn’t just for fun.
The school participated in the American Heart Association’s “Jump Rope for Heart” event, a national program that raises money for the association and awareness about heart health.
For the past two weeks, all 300-plus kindergarten through fourth-grade students at Stadium Drive learned about and participated in the event, and many of them asked family members and friends to sponsor them with donations.
“It stresses the importance of being physically active, and it gives the kids a different way to do that,” Principal Jim Goske said. “And it helps us out with our message that we try to give kids, that it’s good to help others.”
“We talk a lot about being ‘bucket-fillers,’ which is doing kind things for others. And this ties into that by helping the heart association,” he said.
The event, which started officially Monday and ends today, was led by Kendal Daltorio, the school’s physical-education teacher. Daltorio said the event is a great opportunity to teach students about cardiovascular health.
“What’s nice about the American Heart Association is they’ve given us so many things we can use to teach,” she said. For example, the association sent promotional DVDs to the school that students watched last week in preparation for the event.
“It kind of helps them understand why we’re fundraising and why we do jump-roping activities,” she said.
Some students, however, already understand.
“Some of them themselves have had heart surgeries,” Daltorio said. “Even if they don’t have someone sponsoring them, I always tell them to think of someone they can jump for — and why it’s important for them to do cardio exercise.”
Besides jumping on their own, kids also jump-roped with a partner or in groups of three, Daltorio said. On Thursday, a group of kindergarten students alternated between jumping with ropes and with hula hoops.
One kindergarten student, Emma Terlesky, said this week has taught her some good habits.
“We jump rope, we drink healthy things, eat healthy food, and we’re good,” she said.
Stadium Drive has participated in the event for about five years, and the response just keeps getting better, Daltorio said.
“We do get a lot of students fundraising. And every year we’ve done it, we’ve increased the amount we raised,” she said.
This year, the school’s goal was to raise $4,300, which Daltorio said she thinks they will do.
Jump Rope for Heart is a national event, and individuals and schools decide when they will do it. Many other local schools participate in the event throughout the year.