Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Mary Lynch Elementary students sent over $3,300 to the American Heart Association this year. Second grader Mason Anderson, 8 years old, raised $1,000, while the brother-sister team of Katie Hawthorne and Timothy Hawthorne each raised over $500. The program is called the Kids Heart Challenge.
The Hawthorne grandparents donated $100 to both Katie and Timothy if they jumped rope for an hour. They both were successful. Timothy is a fourth grader and Katie is a fifth grader.
The Kids Heart Challenge exposes the students to heart health and encourages raising funds to protect all hearts. Students obtain donations by email, calls or talking to people. Mason said he contacted "a lot" of people.
The American Heart Association has a real connection to Mary Lynch School. Since being at Mary Lynch, Wurdeman said that the Mary Lynch P.E. classes had sent the American Heart Association over $100,000.
Wurdeman said he doesn't push the program hard, but they do talk about Mr. Reeves. He was the guidance counselor at Mary Lynch, and he had a stroke and died in 2018. Wurdeman said, "These guys remember Mr. Reeves."