Sherwood students raise money during Fun Run

ALBANY — Students at Sherwood Christian Academy got physical for a good cause Thursday afternoon as the school participated in its first ever Boosterthon Fun Run.

The Boosterthon Fun Run culminated a nine-day program designed to raise funds for schools and inspire students to live healthy, character-filled lives taught through various themes.

Sherwood students began the event by running out of the inflatable to tunnel to a crowd of cheering parents during the class introductions. Once given instructions, they then ran laps around a course that was set up earlier that morning. Donors pledged based on how many laps the students ran in the allotted time. Sherwood Elementary principal Jill Johnson said they were able to raise more than $16,000, slightly more than their $15,000 goal.

The Boosterthon’s character theme for the curriculum portion this year was “Big World Recess.” Students watched videos that introduced them to young athletes who play a sport in New York, Kenya Australia, Brazil, Japan and Switzerland.

“In our 14 years serving schools, this theme is by far our best yet, because we are bringing students in America inspiring stories from around the world,” said Chris Carneal, Boosterthon founder and president. “Big World Recess promotes the side of sports we all love while giving students a rich global perspective.”

Garrett Thorington, the Boosterthon program director said sports is one activity that can help everyone connect. He added that sports plus the cultural element really helped the lessons to resonate with students.

The theme was introduced to more than one million students in 1,600 schools across the nation. Thorington said he believes the energy his team brings to the events has helped it spread to the 34 states it now takes place in.

Johnson said the event impacted not just the students, but the parents as well.

“It’s built a lot of unity with our parents and has gotten them involved,” she said. “That’s been great, just the camaraderie among them and them being together and then they’re here supporting the kids and cheering them on. The parents are the ones who have been getting the pledges…[this event] was very successful and it wouldn’t have happened without our parents.”