Mt. Ave Jog-A-Thon Fundraiser Follow Up

Joggers cash in

By Mary O’Keefe, Crescenta Valley Sun

Mountain Avenue Elementary students ran to a “rock-n-roll” beat as they raced around the school’s upper field playground. They were running to have fun and raise money to support their school in the very first Mountain Avenue Elementary Jog-A-Thon.

The run took place all day on Nov. 9 and involved all students from kindergarten to sixth. The fundraising began a few weeks earlier where kids asked family and friends to donate either an amount for each lap ran or one general total. The money will support Mountain Avenue Committed to Kids, the school’s foundation.

“It was so well organized,” said Rebeca Witt, Mountain Avenue principal.

She added that although it was the first time for the event, everything from beginning to end ran smoothly.

Most students ran anywhere from 13 to 24 laps around the field with teachers and family members cheering them on. The starting line was an arch of blue and yellow balloons, the school’s colors, and there were signs of encouragement like “You Rock” posted around the track

Some of the students took advantage of advanced training by West Coast Boot Camp trainers.

Led by Adrian Pietrariu, students stayed after school on selected days before the race and stretched, did push ups and ran laps. The training paid off as they leaped into the air to high five Pietrariu as they rounded a curve on the track.

“We don’t know how much money we raised yet,” Witt said.

Students are to turn in their donations by today. “But if it was successful I am sure we will do it again. The kids loved it.”

Crescenta Valley Sun, November 16, 2007

November 10, 2007

Dear Friend of Mountain Avenue Elementary,

For the past 40 years Mountain Avenue Elementary School in La Crescenta has been educating our children in a tradition of excellence! Our school was a proud recipient of the 2005 National Blur Ribbon Award. The support we receive from our parents and the community has been the key to our achieving this level of excellence.

For the past 15 years, M.A.C.K. (Mountain Avenue Committed to Kids)- a parent-lead non-profit foundation, has been committed to enhancing the educational opportunities for the children of Mountain Avenue Elementary School.

We are writing you today to thank you for your generous support of our 1^st Annual Jog-a-thon Fundraiser that was held on November 9^th, 2007.

The money raised from this year’s event is earmarked to upgrade technology and to support continuing programs such as the library and computer lab.

Thank you for supporting us at Mountain Avenue Elementary and making a difference for our children.

Sincerely,

Christine Pehar

M.A.C.K. Jog-a-thon Chairperson