St. Augustine School Walk-a-Thon Highlights New Gym Benefit

As the rain fell from darkened and cloudy skies, Saint Augustine School students and faculty yesterday held their 7th Annual Walk-a-Thon indoors. For the second year in a row, poor weather conditions forced students and faculty to complete their miles within the confines of “Jim’s Gym.”

Walk-a-Thon Co-Chair Lori Iacono said, “Mother Nature may have again altered our outdoor plans, but what better way to highlight the value of our new gym? Money raised from this event has and continues to support our school, and once again, our new gymnasium allowed us to complete our walk as planned. It feels serendipitous that the gym our students and families helped build has, for the second year in a row, housed our fundraising event!”

Established seven years ago, the St. Augustine School Walk-a-Thon provides an opportunity for students to contribute to school fundraising efforts, while stressing the importance of physical exercise and the value of community service. In the first five years of the event, students and faculty swarmed the Andover Common to walk laps in support of the school. Last year, non-stop rain forced the event indoors within the newly-built James D. Doherty Centennial Gymnasium, the structure built from previous Walk-a-Thon fundraising efforts.

Based upon early estimates, students and faculty have this year raised more than $35,000, with additional monies yet to be counted. Combined with previous years, Walk-a-Thon fundraising has accrued nearly $250,000, a sizable percentage of which was invested in the construction of the Doherty Centennial Gymnasium. Now that construction of the gym is complete, school administration is focused on expanding technology integration to further enhance student access to digital curriculum as well as accelerate STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) opportunities.

“The Walk-a-Thon is something our school looks forward to each year given the focus on giving and wellness,” said St. Augustine Principal Paula O’Dea. “It is an event during which we begin to say good-bye to our graduating 8th graders, who complete the walk alongside their kindergarten buddies-- a bittersweet moment for each of them. The outpouring of generosity and effort has become the backbone of this event as well as the framework that has catapulted our school forward in many ways. We feel incredibly blessed.”

Lead sponsors for this year’s Walk-a-Thon included: JB Edward Uniforms, Leonard Orthodontics, Andover Pediatric Dentistry, and Biondo & Foley Dental Group of Wilmington. The school is continuing to accept final donations online therefore, should you wish to donate, click this link.

Founded in 1914 by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, Saint Augustine School (26 Central Street Andover, Mass.) provides a high-quality Catholic education to children Nursery through Grade 8 within an environment supporting, encouraging and nurturing spiritual, intellectual, social and personal growth. St. Augustine School celebrates its strong Catholic identity, promotes academic excellence and fosters respect and justice for all individuals. Through its dedicated group of educators committed to teaching and learning in the Catholic tradition, St. Augustine School recognizes the unique gifts in each child and remains committed to helping each child reach their full academic, social and physical potential.