Fairbrook Elementary combines fun, fitness and fund-raising

The Fairbrook Elementary PTO is taking a new, active approach to fund-raising. The inaugural Foxtrot “Knocking Down the Obstacles to Health and Education” Obstacle Course Event combined fun and fitness with their fund-raising efforts. Students gathered pledge donations from the community and then participated in a half-mile obstacle course on Sept. 25.

“I got the idea for the event from a high school friend who ran a similar event at her kid’s school in California. I thought it would be fun to have the kids be more vested in the fund-raising and do something instead of selling something,” Fox Trot co-chair Kate Wagner said.

The school held a kick-off assembly on Sept. 6, which included a fox mascot and a mini-obstacle course in the gym. This gave the kids an idea of the types of obstacles they would encounter and the prizes they could win. “We had a mascot fox participate and the faculty support was amazing. The principal and several faculty members ran the mini-course in an effort to get the kids excited about the event, and it worked very well,” Wagner said.

She said it was gratifying to see how the kids and community came together to support their school (not that there wasn’t a little incentive.) Students were awarded prizes for meeting and exceeding different tiers of pledge goals. Prizes such as Chick-fil-A meals, cupcakes, movie passes, roller skating and bowling coupons, gift baskets and other certificates from local sports organizations like BSA soccer and the Beavercreek Stars basketball team had been donated. However, the big prize was won when the students exceeded the fundraiser’s initial goal of $12,000. Fairbrook Principal Joell Mangan agreed to spend the night on the roof of the school in a tent and she was as good as her word when students far exceeded the goal raising $14,200.

Wagner says that they may expand the event in the future to include a health fair and 5K race for the adults but for the present was pleased with the results of the first event.

Some of the PTO sponsored programs that the funding will help provide include COSI, Fairbrook Tutors, the fourth- and fifth-grade musical, Everybody Counts, Masterworks and Muse Machine. Fairbrook Elementary is located on Fairfield Road just south of Indian Ripple.

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