(Appeared 10/1 on Fairfield-Sun newspaper's website)
By Mike Lauterborn
© 2010. All Rights Reserved.
9/24/10
Fairfield, CT -- Roger Sherman Elementary School 1st Annual Walk-a-thon planners hoped to hit their goal of $15,000 to fund the many programs the school’s PTA offers its children. By September 24, the day of the Walk, it had collected $18,000 and was still counting.
The Walk-a-thon concept was hatched as a fun and fit activity open to all kindergartners through fifth-graders and a replacement to the school’s usual gift wrap fundraiser which takes place each fall. It was an experiment that paid off thanks to the efforts of students, parents and more than a dozen local businesses, like BMW of Bridgeport, that made contributions.
Coordinated by Sherman moms Lauren Lanham and Sara Kwon, the event raised funds for such programs as Cultural Enrichment, Author/Storyteller Visits, Field Trips, Diversity Day and Art in the Classroom. To spur on fundraising, a daily raffle was also conducted from September 13th – 23rd, with prizes for students that included a No Homework Pass, Hobbytown Prizes, a Holiday Fair Raffle Coupon, Spring Fair Raffle Coupon, Dairy Queen Gift Certificate and Movie Tickets to Community Theater.
Approximately 500 students participated in the Walk, which consisted of a 1-mile loop through the Beach Area adjacent to Sherman School. All students were outfitted with special t-shirts that had been provided for the occasion and left the school grounds in class groups, with the fifth graders in the lead, escorted by several parents and teachers.
It was a noisy bunch and cheered on by more parents, holding encouraging poster board signs, who appeared along the route.
Water was provided at the conclusion of the Walk and a representative from Hobbytown launched several toy rockets to mark the group’s achievement.
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