Assumption jump rope tradition continues
Students and staff at Our Lady of the Assumption School have learned that a simple recess activity can bring great rewards for an important cause.
They celebrated 35 years of participation in the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s Jump Rope For Heart on Wednesday.
The school has been a part of the national fundraising campaign from the very beginning, and they are the only school in southern Alberta to be celebrating 35 straight years.
“It’s a legacy. It’s part of our tradition and it’s who we are,” said Gaylene Duke, Grade 1 teacher and the school’s Jump Rope for Heart co-ordinator. “The children that attend the school know that and they are eager every year to participate in Jump Rope for Heart.”
The entire school of about 240 students participated in a two-hour “skip-a-thon” outdoors and in the gym. During an assembly they heard from Cliff Bogdan and Linda Zook, who first got the school started in the program. After working up a sweat, they were treated to cake.
The school’s commitment “means so much to us. They have raised over $285,000 so far,” said Trish York, HSF’s Regional Fund Development coordinator. This year, the school’s goal is $8,000.
Funds raised go to a number of different programs. Last year, the Foundation installed 190 new AEDs (automatic external defibrillators) in public locations such as arenas and airports across the province.
“Public locations where the majority of people congregate,” said York. “So if somebody does have a heart attack, and you can get that AED onto them, they have a 70 per cent increased chance of survival. That was huge for us last year.”
Provincially, money also goes towards advanced scientific research at the University of Calgary and the University of Alberta in Edmonton. “It’s phenomenal the amount of money our little school has raised over the last 35 years,” said Duke. “It’s great exercise for the kids and... it shows the kids that they’re doing something for someone else. I think that’s the most important thing. They’re not just jumping for themselves, they’re jumping for other people, and they are making a difference.”
Duke said the support the school receives from the community, students, parents and staff is “unbelievable.”
Along with raising money for a good cause, the Heart and Stroke Foundation also focuses on educating children about eating healthy and staying active.
“The habits that they lay down now are crucial and important for their future heart health,” said York. “It all starts right here right now, so of course with Jump Rope for Heart a huge part is the educational component.”
York described Our Lady of the Assumption as a “wonderful little school with a huge heart and lots of spirit.”