Arlington School & Family Magazine March/April 2018 | Page 8

Hearty Lessons
By Kenneth Perkins
Last year it was green.
The year before, purple.
This year? Johns Elementary teacher
Randy Williams went with a classic
blue. He not only dyed his hair but
also had it cut in the school gym.
All around him was organized
chaos as students whizzed by him
jumping rope either with others or
by themselves.
This was the annual Jump Rope for
Heart event, a fundraiser that goes
on at a number of AISD campuses,
particularly at the elementary level.
Jump Rope for Heart gives schools
a chance to raise money for the
American Heart Association and
learn a number of lessons while
doing it.
“It teaches kids the importance of
taking care of themselves,” Williams said. “They learn a lot about exercise, how to eat better and just how to have a
healthy lifestyle.”
At Johns, students were quite busy when it came to raising funds, collecting more than $3,000.
“That’s impressive for a number of reasons,” Williams said. “It’s not easy to collect this kind of money from home
for these kids, but they did it. We’re very proud of the effort they put in and the sacrifices their parents and others who
they approached made.”
Williams said Jump Rope for Heart is a schoolwide effort that incorporates the idea of giving in the curriculum.
Usually spearheaded by physical education teachers, students are taught that even though they don’t have a lot
themselves it is important to give what you can. Students also learn the value of community service and become
empowered to contribute.
They also learn how fundraising is done and where the funds actually go, and they are told stories of how their money
has helped others.
“That’s the best lesson of all,” Williams said. “To see how fundraising is done.”
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