Prairie Grove students raise money for SHOES

PRAIRIE GROVE – More than 1,000 Prairie Grove students hit the district’s walking path Wednesday to raise money for a school health program.

Students took to the quarter-mile Marion R. Todd Memorial Walking Path, which was built last year, as part of the district parent-teacher organization’s Staying Healthy with Ongoing Exercise Safely, or SHOES, program. Students brought in coins as donations and walked laps Wednesday.

“We walk and get exercise as part of the plan to be a healthy school,” said Riley Davoren, 11, of Crystal Lake. The fifth-grader was on the path with group of friends enjoying the spring day.

For Cassidy Thelander, an 11-year-old from Crystal Lake, the goal was to get in as many laps as possible before her teacher blew the whistle.

“It was really fun,” she said.

Donations still are coming in, so it’s not clear how much money was raised, said parent Margaret Ponga, a SHOES organizer.

The money will be used to support SHOES, which encourages children and families to get out and walk, she said.

“I think this event is about bringing the community together,” Ponga said. “The message is health and wellness through the simplest form of exercise – walking. And the kids love it.”

Wednesday’s walk-athon was the district’s third annual fundraiser and the first on the new paved walking path.

As a result of community contributions and past fundraisers, the PTO organization was able to build the path for about $15,000, much less than the projected $45,000 construction cost.

Stephen Todd, who sits on the district’s school board, and his wife, Nina, donated about $12,000 to build the path, which was named in honor of his mother, a retired elementary school teacher who died in 2007. Students also raised money at previous walk-athon events. Several district families gave in-kind contributions of services or materials from their own businesses as well, Ponga said. Local businesses, such as Marconi Construction, Behm Paving and Hacker Brothers Farm, also contributed, she said.