Jump Rope for Life

It's that time of the year! Jump Rope for Life time, that is. On Tuesday, February 14th, I will be sending home information regarding Jump Rope for Life in your child's Tuesday folder. This is a fundraiser that we do every year to help raise money for two separate charitiesl the American Heart Association, and the American Diabetes Association. 2 envelopes will come home next week, one for each charity. I have discussed with all students about our reasonings for raising money for these wonderful causes. Each child has the opportunity to raise money for the charity of their choosing, or they can choose to raise money for both. Obviously, if you feel like this is something that you do not want your child to participate in, then please feel no obligation to do so. All of the money that is raised between Feb. 14 and Friday, March 2nd (which is the deadline to turn all money in) will be sent off to the respective charities and they then send back gift certificates to the school to use through US Games, which is a company that distributes all kinds of physical education equipment. The more money that we raise, the more money we get through these gift certificates.

Each child also has the opportunity to receive "Thank you gifts" from these two charities. Based on how much money each child raises, they can receive gifts that range from t-shirts, to jump ropes, all the way to hand-held digital video cameras and electric Razor scooters! The more money they raise, the more "Thank you gifts" they get back. I am always reminding the students that they are not "buying" these gifts. The ADA and AHA are thanking the students for taking their time to raise money for a great cause.

On top of the Thank you gifts, the AHA has partnered with a couple local sports teams to provide a few extra incentives to the students. If a child raises $25 for the American Heart Association, then they receive a free ticket voucher to a Houston Aeros hockey game. If they raise $50 for the AHA, they still receive a voucher for the hockey game, but they also receive a free ticket voucher for a Houston Rockets game! On top of that, if you attend the Rockets game, each student participant gets to go on to the floor after the game to shoot a free throw! I don't know about you, but that would have been a dream come true when I was in elementary school!!

Now, once our timeline of raising the donations is over, I will send all of the money in to the AHA and ADA. Once they send the "Thank you gifts" back to me, I will send out a notice inviting all students who raised money to join me after school for a Jump Rope for Life party. The party will be under tha covered area and we will have some games, jump roping, music, dancing, popsicles, and this is als when the students will receive their prizes. If your child can not come to the event, then they will receive their thank you gifts the following week when they come to PE.

If you have any questions about Jump Rope for Life, please email me or let me know.

Don't forget to be on the lookout for the AHA and ADA envelopes coming home in Tuesday folder's on Tuesday, Februaru 14th!

Thanks and I hope you have a wonderful day!