• <p>The Glow Run “track” was set up in the HCS gymnasium. </p>
  • <p>A DJ and strobe lights made the Glow Run really fun for kids.</p>
  • <p>Kindergarteners lining up to run.</p>
  • <p>During the Glow Run, Boosterthon team members have grade-level appropriate games for students. A game of freeze, led by “Dan the Man,” kept kindergarten students on their toes.</p>
  • <p>Freeze!</p>
  • <p>As students completed laps, HCS teachers and volunteers checked off the mileage.</p>
  • <p>During the fundraiser, Boosterthon Team members shared professional videos with students centered around character-building. This year’s theme was “Castle Quest.” </p>
  • <p>“The quality of the shareable video went a long way to increase the amount of pledges we received. I was very impressed,” said Mary Baffes, vice president of HCS PTO Executive Committees.</p>
  • <p>A Boosterthon team member during a “huddle” meeting with students and staff.</p>
  • <p>After the Glow Run, kindergarteners were a bit sweaty!</p>
  • <p>During the fundraiser, the Boosterthon team tracks where pledges originate. HCS received pledges from 26 states and Ireland!</p>

March 2, 2018

HCS PTO Raises $12,000 and Counting From Fitness Event

“A hassle-free fundraiser that works.” That’s how Georgia-based Boosterthon describes its fitness and character-building fundraiser that the company has helped schools implement nationally over the last 10 years.

“My nephew did this at his school in Arizona and loved it. His school has been successfully doing it for a few years. It made me want to to try it at H.C. Storm,” said Erin Meitzler, HCS PTO president.

So, on Feb. 20, HCS was off and running with a Boosterthon-powered fundraiser, which started with a pep rally and ended, after eight school days, with an indoor Glow Run.

The HCS PTO set a goal of raising $7,000. To date, the fundraiser has raised $12,000!

The HCS PTO set a goal of raising $7,000 from the Boosterthon Glow Run. To date, the event has raised $12,000!

According to Boosterthon, the fundraising concept is to take the focus off selling products and instead have students participate in a fitness event where families gather pledges (mostly online) for students to run 30 to 35 laps to help their school. The concept also includes a themed and interactive character-building program.

During the eight days of the event, Boosterthon team members—with names like “Dan the Man,” “Supersonic Sarah,” and “Cowboy Chris”—were at the school for a pep rally kick-off and to teach HCS students at each grade level about character-building during daily “huddles.” Topics included self-awareness, creativity, focus, respect, trustworthiness, and being a life learner.

“The HCS PTO was looking for a fundraiser that was fun and exciting for the kids, and easy on the parents. The Boosterthon Fun Run delivered on all of those components, with the added bonus of the character lessons daily! We are very excited about the enthusiasm within the HCS community about this new event,” said Mrs. Meitzler.

In the end, the fundraiser was quite successful. Pledges came in from 26 states and Ireland.

“Our initial goal was $7,000. After the first week, we reached our ‘shoot for the stars’ goal of $8,500. We are currently at $12,000 with one more week of donations to possibly come in,” said Mrs. Meitzler, who added that these figures are “net” after expenses.

The 2018 Glow Run is H.C. storm’s largest fundraiser over the last five years, and could, quite possibly, be the largest in the school’s history.

Tara Bond, vice president of HCS PTO special events and chair of the Fun Run, said she was in favor of choosing Boosterthon as the school’s main fundraiser this year for two main reasons: The Glow Run included every student, regardless of pledges collected, and it was held during the school day so no student was left out.

HCS fifth-grade teacher Lauren Galardini admitted that the fun run did get off to a “slow start” with teachers concerned about the projected date of the event and timeline.

“We, along with our School Leadership Team, administration, and the PTO, made adjustments to the schedule to insure we weren’t infringing on state assessment schedules (PARCC) or MAP testing,” said Mrs. Galardini. “We also had to adjust to the idea of this new fundraiser, and the amount of time teachers, students, and staff would be needed to support the success of the event. As you can see by the success of the program, I think we adjusted well—we always do when we put students first. The money raised goes right back into our school benefiting the students who attend HCS. I thought it was an amazing two weeks and had a lot of fun with my class in a nontraditional venue. I hope we can adjust as a building to the growing pains we might have felt this year with this new event and participate in the Fun Run again next year. The kids loved it!”

Several HCS staff members commented on how students talked about the character-building exercises and Boosterthon team members during the school day. “Dan the Man” seemed to earn superhero status with the kids.

“The kids really got excited every day to see “Dan the Man” and his Boosterthon friends. And parents were happy to see a fundraiser that revolves around getting the kids moving and running,” said Bonnie Hubbard, HCS PTO secretary. “This has turned out to be a great fundraising experience for our PTO, staff, and families.”