Raising fast cash

Danette Goulet

Every athlete should have a coach as tough as 5-year-old Reign Parker.

“Keep going, keep going,” he shouted, as his classmates ran by. “Keep

those legs moving, Colleen. Go, go, go, go, go.”

Reign leaped from his seat and set down his clipboard as his fellow

kindergartners ran laps for the school’s annual jog-a-thon at Newport

Heights Elementary School in Newport Beach.

He began to pat children on the back in encouragement as they ran by.

“He’s our coach,” said Aaron Curtman, 6. “He can’t run ‘cause he has

asthma.”

Aaron and the rest of the Newport Heights kindergarten students took

the field first Friday morning, followed in turn by each grade level, to

earn some money for their school.

Students had each gone out to family, friends and neighbors seeking

sponsors, who were asked to either pledge a flat fee or a dollar amount

per lap.

“I got like $50.50,” said Aaron proudly.

The money goes to fund the PTA, which hoped to raise $20,000 with the

event, topping last year’s $18,000 mark.

Anne Wong, PTA co-president, said the organization would use the money

to buy teacher supplies, gym equipment and to pay for field trips.

The jog-a-thon, with its Olympic theme, is one of the PTA’s two major

fund-raisers of the year. The other big moneymaker is the gift-wrap sale

in the fall, Wong said.

While the parents in attendance were excited about how much money the

event was going to bring in, the children were just as excited about

running around for 20 minutes.

“We’re warming up now ‘cause there’s only a few more minutes,” said

Aaron, as he and his buddy, Bobby Anaya, 5, hopped up and down, then

dropped to their bellies. “Our favorite warmup is push-ups.”