Move-A-Thon Helps Establish Endowment
On Feb. 18, all the elementary and middle school students of Lancaster Mennonite School's Locust Grove campus met in the gym for the start of the first Move-a-Thon to raise funds for the Wonderfully Made Scholarship Endowment. The endownment's name came from Psalm 139:14, which states, "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well," which was read during the Move-a-Thon's opening ceremony. When the ceremony ended, the students started moving.
"Each group of students (was) in the gym for one hour," explained Anita Dickert, academic support teacher with Locust Grove, who said that each group spent a half hour doing exercise dance with an instructor, followed by a half-hour of playing games that kept them on the move. The fundraiser brought in more than $4,000. This amount was enough to establish the Wonderfully Made Scholarship Endowment, which will benefit students in Dickert's classroom.
According to Dickert, the movement to create the fund kicked off in 2018 with concern about the extra costs incurred by parents of children with learning disabilities or other academic support needs. "For years, we have talked about the inequity for these parents who have to pay for special services," said Dickert. Organizers of the fund began letting area residents know of the need. In February of 2020, the group held a special fundraiser. "All the teachers volunteered to babysit on Valentine's Day so that all the parents of students (could go out)," said Dickert, who added that crafts and snacks were provided for students. Parents made a donation in exchange for the child care.
During the COVID-19 shutdown, the group continued to work to grow the fund toward the $50,000 needed to establish the endowment. In December 2021, sponsorship papers were sent home with students asking them to share the fundraising need with family and friends. The students were told if they could raise the final $4,000, a bounce house would be brought to the school for a day in the spring as a reward. They learned on the morning of the Move-a-Thon that they had achieved that goal.
Dickert noted that it is exciting to have completed the endowment, but that fundraising will need to continue for families of students who require academic support in the future. Readers who would like to learn more may visit http://www.lancastermennonite.org and click on "Support."
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