The Griffon News

Working out for money sounds pretty nice. Well, when you get 400 screaming kids into a college gym to jump rope and raise money, it sounds like a great thing.

On Valentines Day, kids from thirteen area elementary schools came together to participate in Jump Rope For Heart, a fundraiser to help donate money to the American Heart Association. Students from Missouri Western, along with parents and staff met in the Looney Complex last Thursday to help with jumping rope, organizing entertainment, as well as distributing contest prizes and drawings.

The kids get together and gather donations to help raise money for the American Heart Association. In doing so, on the day of the event they all come together with area school students to spend time jumping rope for the money they raised.

Prizes are given away to the students who raised the most money for the event, as well as several other raffle prizes.

This year was the 21st annual Jump Rope For Heart. Every year the event hosts hundreds of kids to help raise money. Just last year the event raised over $28,000 for the American Heart Association.

Along with students from the surrounding elementary schools, students from the Missouri Western physical education department came together to volunteer for the event.

Casey Wertz, Missouri Western sophomore, attended Jump Rope For Heart as a volunteer along with 50 other Missouri Western Students.

“It was a good opportunity to help, for people to come together and work towards a greater good,” Wertz said.

Wertz and other students from the Missouri Western physical education department came together to work with the students as a volunteer activity. More than just working with kids, Jump Rope For Heart is an opportunity for the students of Missouri Western to understand what kind of planning goes into an event such as Jump Rope For Heart. Many hours of planning and organization go into making an event as tremendous as this work smoothly. Giving the students a first hand look at organizing and planning will help them better understand what goes into a career such as this.

At the end of the day there is one overall objective aside from learning organization or how to work with kids. It’s giving back something to the community and the people around you.

Heart Disease is one of the top killers in our country today. Spreading awareness and promoting a healthy lifestyle is a big part of what goes on in this event. Coming together to raise money and educate students about the dangers of heart disease are two very important things. Putting them together in a great two-hour block full of fun, liveliness, and educational activities is a great way to score a win with the community.