The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Students exercise, collect shoes for needy
Elementary students exercised alongside friends and family as they participated in Walk on Wednesdays.
Students at Eastview Elementary School, 230 Lear Road in Avon Lake, exercised alongside friends and family Oct. 26 as they participated in Avon Lake City Schools’ final Walk on Wednesdays of the year.
Walk on Wednesdays, or WOW, is a district-wide health and wellness initiative at the elementary and intermediate schools and is in partnership with the Cleveland Clinic.
The partnership is part of the Cleveland Clinic’s “Let’s Move It” initiative to promote and motivate change for people of all ages in Northeast Ohio through health and wellness programs.
Mike Matthews, principal at Eastview, said students and staff walked every Wednesday in October.
For the final WOW the season, students and staff invited someone to walk with them for “Bring a Friend” day.
In addition, the schools collected old shoes as donations to benefit Planet Aid, a nonprofit organization that collects and recycles used textiles, such as shoes and clothes.
Planet Aid aims to protect the environment and support sustainable development in impoverished communities globally.
Seven schools in the district participated in the drive and Walk on Wednesdays, including Learwood Middle School, Troy Intermediate School, Erieview Elementary School, Redwood Elementary School and Westview Elementary School.
Matthews estimated that more than 5,000 people in Avon Lake walked the morning of Oct. 26.
Last year, only students in kindergarten through fourth-grade participated in Walk on Wednesdays.
Matthews said including fourth through eighth graders meant an additional 1,500 students walked this year.
“The neat part is our teachers talk about how the kids are so much more engaged afterward,” he said, adding that the walk gets the students’ energy f lowing.
Staff from the Cleveland Clinic’s new Avon Hospital, 33300 Cleveland Clinic Blvd., also attended the event.
Marilyn Gesing, director of community outreach for the Cleveland Clinic, said at least 50 staff members from the Avon Hospital attended.
“They were so excited to be here,” Gesing said. “This year, the response was overwhelming.”
She explained that so many staff members were able to attend because the hospital doesn’t officially open until Nov. 15, so medical staff is training and doing simulations instead of tending to patients.
Gesing estimated that 1,500 people, including visitors, school staff and students, participated in the walk.
“Walking is great exercise,” she said. “We have the ability to impress that upon them. We make walking fun for them. They’re likely to continue on if they’re having fun.”
Some students and visitors walked hand in hand as they strolled in front of the school, through the building, through a wooded area behind the school and then back to the front of the building.
Matthews said the two laps everyone walked is equivalent to half a mile.
When asked if there was a goal associated with the shoe drive, Matthews said he just wanted to fill the bin and beyond.
“I wanted a mountain of shoes and we got them,” he said. “We wanted to teach the kids that to make a difference, you don’t have to be a superstar or have a million dollars.”
Matthews said even walking is an example of how students can get exercise without needing much more than their two feet. Some of the donated shoes will go to children from countries in Central America, Africa and Asia.
Although Oct. 26 marked the last Walk on Wednesdays of the year, Matthews said different walking activities and programs will be implemented throughout the year.
“I wanted a mountain of shoes and we got them.”
— Mike Matthews, principal at Eastview