Run for St. Mark’sBoy Runner

Purpose

Students at St. Mark’s Lutheran School strive to glorify God by being physically fit. Physical activity and exercise are an important part of every day at our school. Each morning students are given a physical fitness break. Several mornings each week, this physical fitness break is an endurance run. The endurance run consists of running a designated number of laps around our track or running for a designated amount of time. Students in Pre-K and Kindergarten often run one or two laps. Students in grades one through eight run for twelve minutes. Nearly all of them run at least a mile, and some of them run almost two miles during this time frame.

 

The “Run for St. Mark’s” is a new fundraiser connected to our school’s morning fitness routine that is designed to accomplish two purposes:

  • Support and encourage our students to be physically fit.
  • Raise funds to refurbish and expand our school’s playground area.

 

Description of Fundraising Effort

  • During the next three weeks, students will ask people to sponsor them. Students should ask people with whom they or their parents are acquainted – family members, friends, co-workers, etc. Students should not ask strangers to sponsor them.
  • Sponsors can make donations in one of two ways – either give a flat amount or pledge an amount per lap the student runs. Pledging an amount per lap is preferred because it will encourage the student to work hard and run as many laps as possible. The number of laps each student is likely to run is recorded on the sponsor form. This will help sponsors determine how much they want to pledge per lap. Here are few examples:
    • A Kindergartener expects to run 20 laps in four weeks. A sponsor wants to make a donation of approximately $20. The sponsor should pledge $1.00 per lap.
    • A fourth grade student expects to run 100 laps in four weeks. A sponsor wants to make a donation of approximately $10. The sponsor should pledge $0.10 per lap.
    • An eighth grader expects to run 120 laps in four weeks. A sponsor wants to make a donation of approximately $50. The sponsor should pledge $0.40 per lap.
  • Students will record their sponsorships on the “Participant Sponsor Form.” This form needs to be filled out and returned to school by Friday, October 4.
  • Students will accumulate laps during their morning endurance runs for four consecutive weeks – October 7-November 1. These laps will be recorded at school.
  • Student Sponsor Forms will be returned to them on Monday, November 4 with the actual number of laps they ran recorded on the form. Students will collect their donations during the next two weeks and return the sponsor form and donations to school in the designated envelope by Friday, November 15.

 

Incentives

  • Students who raise at least $25 will receive a frozen treat. Students who raise at least $50 will receive a frozen treat and a St. Mark’s hacki ball. Students who raise at least $75 will receive a frozen treat, a St. Mark’s hacki ball, and a St. Mark’s water bottle.
  • The top individual fundraiser will receive a $30 gift card to a retailer of choice.
  • Mr. Bauer will run a lap around our track for every $100 our students raise. If our students raise $5,000, that means he will run 50 laps (more than seven miles). We will wrap up the “Run for St. Mark’s” with a celebration on November 20 at which the students will run Mr. Bauer’s last few laps with him.

 

Sponsor Email Request

Email is a convenient and effective way to seek sponsorships. The text below can be used as an email message to possible sponsors.

 

Dear _________,

My school, St. Mark’s Lutheran, encourages me to glorify God by striving to be physically fit. Physical activity and exercise are built into every school day. Each morning we have a physical fitness break. Several mornings each week this physical fitness break is an endurance run. Pre-K and Kindergarten students often run a lap or two each day. Students in grades one through eight run for twelve minutes. Their goal is to run at least a mile, and many of them run between one and two miles. This fall my school is having a “Run for St. Mark’s” fundraiser that will encourage me to work as hard as I can to be physically fit and raise funds for the refurbishment and expansion of our playground area. I kindly ask you to consider sponsoring me in one of two ways:

  • Make a flat donation to my school at your discretion.
  • Pledge to donate a specific amount per lap that I run. Beginning October 7, I will be keeping track of the number of laps I run for four consecutive weeks. I expect to run ___ laps during that time.

If you wish to sponsor me by making a donation, please reply to this email and specify the amount you wish to donate. I will be collecting my donations after the four weeks of running are finished on November 1.

Thank you for considering supporting me in my effort to glorify God by being physically fit and contributing to my school’s playground project.

Sincerely,

Joe Student

 

Questions

Thank you for helping your child participate in the first “Run for St. Mark’s” fundraiser. If any questions come to mind, please do not hesitate to speak to your child’s teacher or Mr. Bauer.