Roessleville Elementary School jumped its way into second place during the American Heart Association’s Jump Rope for Heart event in New York State earlier this year.
The South Colonie District school was recently awarded a plaque for earning the second highest amount in donations throughout New York State, recognizing the efforts of both students and staff in the 2013-14 school year. Roessleville Elementary School students, and staff raised $8,761.21 for the initiative.
Coach Michael Palmer, who organized the event for Roessleville, said he was away at a game when a coworker texted a congratulations to him.
“For our school, being in terms of the location we are, I would say we have a mixture of lower and higher income families. For our school to raise that amount of money shows how loving and caring our school is,” Palmer said.
Jump Rope for Heart, which has taken place every May in schools for nearly 35 years, teaches students how to care for their hearts with nutrition facts and different ways to exercise. The students jump rope each day for a week to help their hearts. Students are also given a collection folder to take home and gather donations from family and friends for people who may have health issues with their heart and for educational programs through the Heart Association.
Roessleville was also one of several schools to receive a $250 gift card from Capital Communications Federal Credit Union, which has paired with the American Heart Association to encourage kids to get involved in heart health. Also, the school received $500 from US Games, a physical education equipment provider. The money went toward Roessleville’s physical education program.
Students received prizes, as well. After certain increments of money were raised, students received small gifts as encouragement. This past school year, Palmer said each student got a little rubber duck.
“It wasn’t the gifts that were the main concern of the kids, though,” Palmer said. The students were more excited to know they were helping other kids after they saw a video from the American Heart Association showing who would benefit from the money raised.
Roessleville has been participating in the event for the past five years, ever since the daughter of Sand Creek Middle School physical education teacher Greg Lanni began having trouble with her heart. Lanni decided to participate in Jump Rope for Heart, getting support from other South Colonie District schools as they also joined the event.
“We all jumped on the bandwagon and supported Greg and his daughter. We all stared the Jump Rope for Heart to support her and what she was going through,’ said Palmer.
The plaque is displayed in the Roessleville athletic department for students and residents to see. Palmer said it is a proud reminder of the compassion of the Roessleville community.
“It was just an amazing amount of money. I think we tripled the amount we raised the previous year,” he said. “It was a really awesome experience for the school to raise as much as we did.”