Running in circles was so much fun for students at Willow School – and they helped to raise $27,500 for the District 153 PTA.
This is the second year the PTA hosted the Glow Run, a fundraiser put together by the firm Booster. Its staff lays down glowing lights around the gym along with strobe lights in specific areas. It selects popular music to fill the space and puts up an inflatable tunnel the kids run through.
Willow School serves kids in pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, first and second grades. On Friday, Nov, 21, following a schedule from 8:30 a.m. to noon and 1 to 2:30 p.m. each classroom got their 30-minute chance to participate in Glow Run.
An added bonus from Booster this year was the award of a mega birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese for one student. The winner selected in a drawing was second grader Charlotte Fitch, who got hugs from her friends after her name was announced. She jumped up and down in excitement, her blond ponytail bobbing with her.
Donations poured in from across the country. Willow had a map that gave kids the chance to watch how friends and family outside of Illinois were supporting them.
The Homewood PTA had tried a number of fundraisers in the past, but none brought in the revenue like Glow Run. Last school year the PTA raised an estimated $53,000 collected by Willow and Churchill School students. The second half of Glow Run in April will involve Churchill School students.
PTA fundraising chair Lisa Opiola said, “It’s awesome to see kids in Glow Run shirts all over town, and it’s encouraging to see all of the local business logos on the back as a testament to the community support that exists in Homewood-Flossmoor.”
Sponsors were Calderone Roofing and Insulation, Balagio Ristorante, Gabe’s Place, Berkot’s Super Foods, Lisa Savant Investment Advisors, Homewood Oral Surgery, Asian Harbor, Homewood Dental Studio, Aurelio’s Pizza, Grant Orthodontics, Angelo Tzinares State Farm, Chevrolet of Homewood and Ford of Homewood.
Opiola said thanks to Glow Run donations, the PTA was able to double the grant money for Willow, Churchill and James Hart Schools this school year. Staff used their dollars for Scholastic News subscriptions for each classroom at Willow, a Resiliency Assembly at Churchill, eighth grade graduate yard signs, buses to transport eighth graders for Step Up Days and trolleys for the annual second grade Homewood field trip.
Opiola said the budget also allowed the PTA to sponsor Teacher Appreciation Week activities and Willow’s first annual Fall Fest in October.
“We are thrilled to be able to provide additional resources where we can,” she said.
Donations are still being accepted at give.mybooster.com.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was updated Dec. 11 to reflect the final amount raised.)
