Churchville Elementary School students celebrated record breaking achievements with a fun ceremony on Friday, February 18. The American Heart Association and Churchville Elementary are working together to make whole-body wellness a priority as students participate in Kids Heart Challenge™.
During the ceremony, the school recognized two kindergartners who have made this year’s Kids Heart Challenge program even more special. Ellianna O’Geen and Aubrey Cimino were both born with congenital heart defects. Ellianna had open heart surgery in the spring, just a few months before starting kindergarten. Aubrey has had two surgeries, including an open heart surgery at just seven months old. Both girls’ parents say they are doing wonderfully, and events like Kids Heart Challenge create important opportunities.
“It’s exciting. It’s a chance for kids to learn about hearts and that kids with special hearts can still do everything other kids do,” said Ellianna’s parents, Doug and Erika O’Geen.
“A big piece of this for us is not feeling bad about her special heart, but feeling celebrated,” said Aubrey’s mom, Suzanne Cimino. Aubrey may still need a valve replacement as she grows up, so Cimino said she is hopeful money raised at events like Kids Heart Challenge can help fund research to make surgeries in the future even easier.
Students broke out in cheers when they learned their efforts led to a record-breaking fundraising amount. Students raised more than $25,000 for Kids Heart Challenge this year. The school’s previous record was $21,000 and this year’s goal was $10,000.
Since the school beat its goal, every student who participated in Kids Heart Challenge was entered into a drawing for the chance to throw a pie in the face of a teacher or administrator. Five students threw pies at their physical education teachers, principal, assistant principal, and a classroom teacher. The top three fundraisers earned the honor of being assistant principal or principal for a day.
Funds raised by Kids Heart Challenge participants support the American Heart Association’s scientific research and outreach programs, paving the way for technological breakthroughs to improve health outcomes while creating healthier communities.
Kids Heart Challenge is a more than 40-year-old program that targets improving whole-body wellness. The program offers schools a curriculum which prepares kids for success by supporting their physical and emotional well-being, new learning resources, and physical activities to meet the needs of today’s youth and educators.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, only 20% of kids get enough activity to meet physical activity recommendations. The Kids Heart Challenge is rooted in proven science which has shown that kids who are regularly active have a better chance of a healthy adulthood. In addition to improved physical health, the benefits of physical activity for children include better grades, school attendance, and classroom behavior. Physical activity can also help kids feel better, improve mental health, build self-esteem, and decrease and prevent conditions such as anxiety and depression.
For more information, visit www.heart.org/khc.
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