The first-ever Westover Magnet Elementary School Jog-a-Thon was a much bigger success than expected. "Our goal was to raise $7,000 for the school, and we ended up with $15,000," PTO co-President Melissa Gallagher-Smith said.
The Jog-a-Thon idea came from co-President Jennifer Noonan's sister, and the PTO jumped at the opportunity to get the whole school family involved in the event earlier this month.
It worked this way: Students collected donations of pledges from family and friends in amounts from 25 cents to $200 or more to support jogging. As a bonus, for every $25 a student collected, he or she received a raffle ticket good for prizes. The more students raised, the more raffle tickets they got.
The Jog-a-Thon took place during school with parents and friends cheering on the joggers. The Kid Power theme of "Healthy Body, Happy Future" got the kids excited about making healthy choices.
"Our biggest opportunity at Westover is to reach out to all parents and get everyone involved," Noonan said. "This is a very large school (730 students) with a very diverse student makeup, as are most magnet schools."
Gallagher-Smith added, "We're always trying to build our volunteer base."
Noonan got excited when talking about the Westover family. "Our parents are really building a sense of community here and being more inclusive."
Jennifer Noonan is in her second year as co-president, and with three children at Westover, she's busy all the time. Melissa Gallagher-Smith, in her first year as co-president, has a sixth-grader in middle school and a second-grader at Westover.
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