ROSS TWP. — Five-year-old Molly Emma Sorber did her part to fund her school by submitting six addresses and walking several laps during Ross Elementary School’s Race For Education on Oct 16.
Race For Education is a fundraiser that incorporates help from students, families, teachers and the elementary school’s Parent Teacher Organization. The goal is to raise at least $10,000 for field trips, assemblies, classroom materials and a small Christmas gift, Melissa Lukavitch, secretary of the Ross Elementary School PTO said.
“We raised about $7,000 so far,” Lukavitch said. “We still have several mailers coming in.”
Race For Education has helped over 2,500 schools in 40 states raise thousands of dollars by having parents and caregivers submit addresses of family, friends and co-workers. A school’s parent-teacher group uses the address to mail out form letters requesting donations. Donations can be in any dollar amount.
Ross Elementary School’s Parent Teacher Organization held the fundraiser about two years ago and it was a huge success, Lukavitch said. This year Lukavitch and Nancy Walsh, a Ross Elementary School PTO member, organized the event again hoping for a repeat of that success.
“I think it was a success because you can reach out to family members out-of-state,” Lukavitch said. “You are not limited to selling items door-to-door.”
According to Race For Education’s website, schools receive 100 percent of the donations. Sale fundraisers only provide a predetermined commission to the hosting school.
Race For Education also includes a jog-a-thon, where students try to complete a certain number of laps around a designated course. For the nearly 212 students at the elementary school, that course was a large circle marked in a field outside their school near the basketball court.
Butch Prest, a father of a Ross Elementary School student, volunteered to spin tunes Friday keeping the beat and providing a fun atmosphere.
As Ray Parker Jr.’s “Ghostbusters” filled the air, students walked, giggled and ran around the course. Each time they passed the finish line, an index card they carried received a hole punch.
“The boy and girl who complete the most laps will receive a ribbon,” Lukavitch said.
Kindergarten student Madisyn Cox, 5, said she finished 15 laps and showed her card to prove it.
