For 25 years, Jump Rope for Heart has been one of the biggest fundraisers at Tabernacle Elementary School.
However, the event has not only captured the hearts of students and staff, but the entire Tabernacle community.
The 25th annual Jump Rope for Heart will be held at the Tabernacle Elementary School gym on Saturday, Feb. 21 from 9 to 11 a.m.
Tabernacle Elementary holds its Jump Rope for Heart on Saturday, giving parents, family and other community members an opportunity to participate.
“It’s really been a staple in the Tabernacle community,” Tabernacle Elementary School Principal Gerald Paterson said.
Beth Manning, a physical education teacher at school, has been a part of the event since it began in 1991 and has seen it grow from a simple fundraiser to a community happening.
“We started doing it on Saturday to get family members involved, too,” Manning said. “It’s made our adults more aware.”
Manning was a part-time teacher when the event began in 1991. A now retired teacher, Carol Ritter, came up with the event after she and Manning visited a New Jersey physical education conference.
“We saw a jump rope team in action and thought that would be really neat,” Manning said.
The event itself combines fundraising with fitness. Students received packets in January so they could begin fundraising for the event.
“We ask them to ask friends and relatives to donate to the (American Heart Association),” Manning said.
During the fundraising period, students are training for the event during physical education class. All classes have a jump rope unit where they learn and practice their skills.
Manning hopes to show the kids how much fun jump roping can be and encourage them to attend the Jump Rope for Heart event.
“The kids start doing basic jumping, and every week we have partner skills and jumping tricks,” Manning said.
Students are challenged to do a certain number of jumps depending on their grade level. First graders are asked to jump 10 times, second graders 20 times, and on up to fourth graders who are asked to jump 40 times.
The combination of challenges and new skills keeps the class fresh and exciting throughout the winter.
“We try to make it fun, and it’s not going to be boring all of the time,” Manning said.
The kids have so much fun jumping rope, some of them return even after they move on to middle school.
“The other kids know about it,” Manning said. We still hang up signs at the middle school. “(Parents) remark how much fun their kids have doing Jump Rope for Heart.”
Parents and other community members get involved during the event on Feb. 21. Students are divided into small teams. Parents volunteer as team leaders and encourage the students throughout the morning.
Volunteers have been essential to keeping the event running strong. Manning said some volunteers continue to come out annually even if they no longer have children at the school.
“We normally have two team leaders with every group.” Manning said. “We have parents who sit out at the hallways at the registration table. I am so grateful for those parents who volunteer.”
Paterson said the event is one members of the Tabernacle community mark on their calendar each year.
“It’s really a staple in the community,” Paterson said. “It’s a fixture that everyone talks about.”
The amount of money the school has raised in Jump Rope for Heart has increased each year. In 2014, the school raised $15,000, more than any other Burlington County school participating in the event. In the past 24 years, Tabernacle Elementary has raised more than $233,000. All funds go to the American Heart Association’s efforts to fight heart disease and help educate the public on heart health.
Paterson gives Manning and the physical education department most of the credit when it comes to the event. He said she has been the reason Jump Rope for Heart has succeeded for a quarter-century in Tabernacle.
“She’s really rallied the troops in facilitating this,” Paterson said. “She’s really an outstanding educator.”
