Last Thursday the sixth grade of Entheos Academy, an expeditionary learning school, finished their Pedals for Hope project. Most of my kids attend Entheos, and Lindsey (11) was one of the sixth-graders who worked this year to raise funds for cancer research. [photo: Lindsey after the tour]
It started with an “intensive”—a week where the students do a very in-depth study of one subject. That week they learned about cancer: besides learning about the disease itself, they learned the statistics of how many people are affected by it, and visitors came to the school to tell the kids of their experiences with cancer. The students made a visit to the Huntsman Institute for Cancer in Salt Lake City and to the Make a Wish Foundation. Lindsey said that "The Make a Wish Foundation was a very calming place." She thought it was really neat that kids with terminal illnesses were able to have a life-time wish granted.
The Entheos kids went on to research articles on what others had done to raise money for cancer. As they continued learning about this disease and how it affects people, the sixth grade decided to make a bike tour to raise money for cancer research. This tour would include a campout—they would ride six miles the first day, ten miles the second day, and five miles the third day, camping the two nights between. Pedals for Hope was born.
Sixth-graders began looking for sponsors, seeking to raise $3,000. Some kids went to local businesses to ask for donations, others stayed after school and made phone calls to businesses. Students looked for sponsors who would donate bikes and helmets to use for their tour and they also found a sponsor who donated T-shirts for everyone involved with Pedals for Hope.
The kids also learned all about bicycles: they learned how to repair bikes, what all the parts are called, how they work, bike safety, and how to ride if they didn't already know. The kids practiced riding at the school, going through obstacle courses and learning to use hand (turn) signals. For a month of Fridays they went to the Salt Lake Bike Collective to repair bicycles.
At last the big day arrived! On Tuesday, May 20 the Entheos sixth grade took a bus to Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah, where they began their bike tour. They bicycled six miles, then took a bus to their camping spot. Unfortunately the weather was bad; they ahd rain and 30-mile-per-hour winds to deal with. Lindsey says, "It was fun! We were up all night trying to keep the tents from blowing down." They had to come home on Wednesday, but by Thursday the weather had improved enough for them to finish their tour along the Jordan River Parkway, riding 15 miles that day. [photo: Lindsey and her good friend, Sharen. Later that evening Sharen had her hair cut for "Locks of Love."]
When they started the tour, nine girls volunteered to donate their hair to "Locks of Love" if they reached their $3000 goal. The students not only reached that goal, they came near to doubling it! They've raised $5,411.56—and counting.
I'm proud of Entheos for including service as part of their mission statement--and following through in such a big way. I'm proud of our teachers who put so much time and effort into helping our students achieve this goal and have an experience they can remember for the rest of their lives. But mostly I'm proud of Lindsey; she has been excited and enthusiastic about this project from the start. And I'm especially proud of a group of kids who could conceive such a great idea and make it happen. Great job!!
Lindsey's group finishing the ride on Thursday. They were coming fast and I wasn't quite ready for them, so I barely got her in!
It started with an “intensive”—a week where the students do a very in-depth study of one subject. That week they learned about cancer: besides learning about the disease itself, they learned the statistics of how many people are affected by it, and visitors came to the school to tell the kids of their experiences with cancer. The students made a visit to the Huntsman Institute for Cancer in Salt Lake City and to the Make a Wish Foundation. Lindsey said that "The Make a Wish Foundation was a very calming place." She thought it was really neat that kids with terminal illnesses were able to have a life-time wish granted.
The Entheos kids went on to research articles on what others had done to raise money for cancer. As they continued learning about this disease and how it affects people, the sixth grade decided to make a bike tour to raise money for cancer research. This tour would include a campout—they would ride six miles the first day, ten miles the second day, and five miles the third day, camping the two nights between. Pedals for Hope was born.
Sixth-graders began looking for sponsors, seeking to raise $3,000. Some kids went to local businesses to ask for donations, others stayed after school and made phone calls to businesses. Students looked for sponsors who would donate bikes and helmets to use for their tour and they also found a sponsor who donated T-shirts for everyone involved with Pedals for Hope.
The kids also learned all about bicycles: they learned how to repair bikes, what all the parts are called, how they work, bike safety, and how to ride if they didn't already know. The kids practiced riding at the school, going through obstacle courses and learning to use hand (turn) signals. For a month of Fridays they went to the Salt Lake Bike Collective to repair bicycles.
At last the big day arrived! On Tuesday, May 20 the Entheos sixth grade took a bus to Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah, where they began their bike tour. They bicycled six miles, then took a bus to their camping spot. Unfortunately the weather was bad; they ahd rain and 30-mile-per-hour winds to deal with. Lindsey says, "It was fun! We were up all night trying to keep the tents from blowing down." They had to come home on Wednesday, but by Thursday the weather had improved enough for them to finish their tour along the Jordan River Parkway, riding 15 miles that day. [photo: Lindsey and her good friend, Sharen. Later that evening Sharen had her hair cut for "Locks of Love."]When they started the tour, nine girls volunteered to donate their hair to "Locks of Love" if they reached their $3000 goal. The students not only reached that goal, they came near to doubling it! They've raised $5,411.56—and counting.
I'm proud of Entheos for including service as part of their mission statement--and following through in such a big way. I'm proud of our teachers who put so much time and effort into helping our students achieve this goal and have an experience they can remember for the rest of their lives. But mostly I'm proud of Lindsey; she has been excited and enthusiastic about this project from the start. And I'm especially proud of a group of kids who could conceive such a great idea and make it happen. Great job!!
Lindsey's group finishing the ride on Thursday. They were coming fast and I wasn't quite ready for them, so I barely got her in!
6 comments:
That's awesome! Sounds like that is a great school - maybe I'll send my kids there.
Congratulations Lindsay for doing such an amazing thing!
If you're going to live around here and you want to go to Entheos, you might want to get on the Kindergarten waiting list early. Maybe not yet, but by 4 years old.
Way to go, Lindsey! I bet she had lots of fun. :)
You're an awesome writer, Loralee! I've enjoyed reading all of your posts.
What a tremendous thing for Lindsey to have accomplished. Good for her.
have fun!!!
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