The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.


Spotlight: Jumping For A Good Cause

-by Diane Spilker, Quill Staff

The American Heart Association (AHA) is committed to fighting heart disease and stroke and raising awareness of these diseases. 

La Harpe Elementary school helped in this cause Friday, February 15th by hosting the Annual Jump Rope for Heart. 

The elementary school helped raise $6,078.22 to assist the American Heart Association in their fight againstÊheart disease. 

Twenty three teams consisting of at least 6 members and 1 team captain (sixth graders)Êjumped for almost 3 hours in the gymnasium. 

A total of 161 kids participated in this event. 

Single, double and group jumpers crowded the gym Friday and jumped "their hearts out' for this cause.  Some even created their own jumping styles such as Riley Hobby (2nd grader) who developed the "Frog Jump'. 

Even teachers joined in on the 3 hours of jumping fun. Door prizes were given out by Mrs. Hunter, Cathy Jones (2nd grade teacher) and Linda Hughes. Breaks were taken for snacks, water, juice and special guests. 

One such guest was Lea Stone, Youth Market Director of the Midwest Affiliate of the AHA. 

She presented the school with a banner to display for their hard work, which was lime green and yellow and listed the sponsors for the event (Subway, American Heart Association and American Alliance for Health Physical Education Recreation) and told the story of "Ginger'. 

Ginger was born with a hole in her heart and could not actively run, exercise or play like a normal child. At the age of 9, Ginger received surgery to fix her heart and after all the scars healed, Ginger could run and play like a normal child. 

She then lived a long and prosperous life-getting married and having 5 kids, one of them being Lea.

So, without the American Heart Association and the progress of modern medicine, Lea would not exist. She has become a major activist in children's awareness of this disease. 

Other guest included the Pre-School class performing the "Chicken Dance'.

Students raising $100 or more included:

Taylor Blythe, Austin Torrence, Leah Shores, Collin Swanson, Samantha Cox, Laura White, Jagar Finley, Kellie Allaman, Rossi Lee, Haylee Kienast, Parker Yard, Colby Claassan, Destiny Shoemaker, Morgan Dodds, Wesley Dodds, Ethan Johnson and Brady Griffin. 

Raising a total of $200 was Trinity Burton. 

Each of these students had the opportunity to throw Cool Whip into the face of Sports Broadcaster, Tyler Fulghum from KHQA in Quincy. 

Tyler took the "licks' with a smile on his face and took three throws from Trinity Burton for being the top fund raiser for the school. 

Tyler featured his participation on Friday's Channel 7, 6 p.m. Newscast for KHQA.

As time lapsed, the students began to grow tired and danced to karaoke music provided by Mrs. Hunter, Physical Education teacher. She sang various songs and entertained guests, students and teachers. 

This event provided both exercise and recreation for the students. All those who participated enjoyed themselves and raised a lot of money for a good cause.

Double jumpers like Kelsey Hobby and Josie Finch (both 5th graders) enjoyed the fun together.