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03/22/2017 08:30 AMFor Jennifer Black, organizing the Jump Rope for Heart event at Deer Run Elementary School wasn’t just about raising funds for a good cause, it was also about giving back by spreading awareness about heart disease.
Students at the school recently participated in the event. Students’ families and school staff raised more than $4,000 this year, and all of the funds will be donated to the American Heart Association.
Jennifer says she has always enjoyed exercise, and played sports through high school. She also enjoys working with kids, so becoming a physical education teacher was a good way to put the two together.
Originally from Ohio, Jennifer got her degree in physical education from Kent State University. She has been teaching physical education for Pre-K through 2nd-grade students at Deer Run Elementary School for 14 years.
After being approached by the American Heart Association, Jennifer decided to implement the Jump Rope for Heart event into her curriculum. One of the reasons she wanted to start doing the event was because her family has a history with heart problems.
Her father passed away due to a heart attack, and her son was born with a heart defect. Thankfully, she says her son is now a strong and healthy senior in high school—he is a three-sport athlete, and received a scholarship for lacrosse from Merrimack College.
“Besides raising money, it’s about helping people to start living a healthy life,” she says.
The event ties into physical education and health aspects as well, highlighting the importance of exercise and eating healthy. Jennifer says it’s about trying to teach these things to kids at a young age, encouraging their families to do these things.
She says the kids really enjoy the sense of community during the event, as they see all the classes coming together to participate. She also says that her students get excited about the event, and they enjoy setting up stations and playing once they’re done.
“Young kids love exercising and playing no matter what, so you don’t have to do too much to get them going,” she says.
The school staff enjoys the event as well. Jennifer says that some teachers participate with the students, and the students enjoy seeing the teachers get involved in the different games and activities.
Some teachers contributed in different ways. One of the kindergarten teachers helped Jennifer make a video that showed her kids and other teachers’ kids jumping rope, and giving an encouraging message to Deer Run students. The art teacher painted posters with healthy heart facts on them, and the music teacher created a song about the heart.
Jennifer even had her son create an encouraging video for her students as a survivor of a heart defect. It was his way of saying thanks for helping kids like him.
Seeing everyone getting involved and the generosity of the community is what touches Jennifer the most. She says that when students turn in the donation envelope, there is a spot where they can write if they were jumping rope to honor someone. She said she has seen some students write that they had a heart defect when they were young, but are now healthy and active.
“That always gets me, knowing how heart disease has affected other families,” she says.
Since Jennifer started doing the event in 2009, the school has raised more than $30,000. She said she is grateful for the incredible generosity of the Deer Run families and staff. Jennifer said she is happy and proud to be able to raise money for a good cause, and that she doesn’t feel like it’s just her donating the money, but rather the entire community.
“It’s exciting to see how much can be accomplished when everybody pulls together,” she says.