Taking steps for our Bobcats

Do you know exactly how many steps your little Bobcat took this weekend?

We hope so. It means your child enjoyed the inaugural Bobcat BLAST! on Friday, that he or she is still having a good time with the pedometer and — maybe without knowing it — is getting a little extra exercise every day.

After all, fun and exercise were two of the many goals the PTA had for the BLAST.

On Friday, students headed out by grade level onto the field near the gym where the Get Movin’ Crew had set up a running track marked with colorful flags. After lining up by class for photos with Movin’ Max, the children danced to get warmed up. A flag-bearing Crew member led the children on their first lap, then let the students go at their own pace.

For the better part of half an hour, students ran, jogged or walked. They moved at their own pace or teamed up with friends. They timed their steps to the beat of popular music playing over the speakers or they moved to their own rhythm. At times, they were joined by Principal LeCrone, their teachers and parents who had volunteered to help or who had stopped by to see the fun for themselves.

After a Crew member brought out the checkered flag, students ran one more lap before heading back inside with their class to record their steps on a memory page.

The BLAST, of course, was a PTA fundraiser. Students were encouraged to ask family and friends to pledge money for their participation in the fun run. By late Friday, the pledges totaled more than $10,400 and the number continues to rise. Families may pledge online at http://www.thegetmovincrew.com/sponsor.php through Friday, Sept. 30.

“I’m really pleased at what I see coming in — a huge range, a lot of cash donations, $2 from this person, $5 from that person,” event Chairwoman Barb Peterson said. “I love that because it just shows kids are getting out and people are encouraging them to be active and supporting their schools. I’m really glad to see the diversity of people jumping in and getting involved.”

Students were rewarded for collecting more than $8,000 in pledges with music at the start of the day and the ever-popular “round table lunch.” Rather than sitting at long, linear tables with their classes, students were able to sit at any of the round tables with any of their friends from their grade level.

The PTA paid the Get Movin’ Crew $3,144 to run the event for us and manage online pledging. After costs for water, cups, signs and other incidentals are deducted, the fun run already has generated $7,000 to support the educational opportunities the PTA provides.

Because the PTA strives to offer opportunities for every child at Brookdale, we wanted to find a way to raise money through an activity that would likewise include each student. Regardless of whether a child’s family pledged no money or hundreds of dollars, everyone ran with their friends, everyone received a pedometer, everyone took home a memory.