April 23, 2024
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Oswego SD308 surpasses $1 million total lifetime dollars in partnership with the American Heart Association

By Shaw Local News Network
Oswego School District 308 Administration Office, Route 71, Oswego

Oswego School District 308 Administration Office, Route 71, Oswego (Shaw Local News Network)

At the May 9 Board of Education meeting, Jessica Petersen from the American Heart Association (AHA) spoke to the board and thanked the district for the impact in the fight against heart disease the district’s schools have made not only this year but over the lifetime of its involvement with partnering with the AHA.

The Kids Heart Challenge is a free program offered to schools which builds on key learnings and is designed to teach students in a memorable and fun way how to stay heart healthy not only physically but mentally too. This program helps to reiterate not only the importance to the students to stay healthy but also offers an outlet for donations to the AHA to go towards: advancement in cardiovascular research, local hospitals to provide guidelines for the best care, advocacy efforts and more. While donations are not required to participate in the programs, the 17 schools who participated (1,717 students) in the program this year, raised a total of $75,688.

Maria Flores from Wolf’s Crossing was the highest fundraiser in the district with an impressive $2,340 raised; Wolf’s Crossing Elementary was the school with the most donations totaling $10,855. Grande Park Elementary saw 195 of their students challenge themselves to keep their hearts healthy, which was the most students of any school in the district. SD 308 has now surpassed the One Million Total Lifetime Dollars collected during its time partnering with the AHA.

SD 308 also had 148 students and families take part Finn’s Mission, a special initiative where participants learn the AHA’s lifesaving skill of hands only CPR or how to spot the signs of a stroke. Finn’s Mission is a bonus part of the AHA’s program, rallying around a little boy named Finn who was given a fatal diagnosis in utero due to his specific heart condition. His parents named him Finn, which means warrior, which he has been ever since. In Finn’s six years, he has survived and thrived through 18 heart surgeries, and has just recently suffered a stroke.

SD 308 is proud of its partnership with the American Heart Association.