South Central Elementary Ties Fitness Day to Walk for Autism

South Central Elementary students, teachers, and parents are getting ready to show their support for autism research by participating in the annual Walk Now for Autism Speaks on June 9 at Heinz Field.

This is their third year supporting the charity and they have raised $825 so far this year.

“We hope to raise $1,000 by the walk date,” said Michelle Tomicek, principal.

During the month of April, donations were collected and children were rewarded with their name on puzzle pieces (the symbol for Autism Speaks). They received entries into a drawing based on the amount they collected.

Three winners of the drawing were chosen at the celebration following their annual Fitness Day on Friday, May 4:  Nathan Smidt, Alivyah Butler, and Florence Bergeron. Their prize—getting to shave the sides of gym teacher Jason Cardillo’s hair and spike the top with blue gel, the signature color of the Autism Speaks charity. 

The school chose to support autism research because of the large population of autistic students at the school. The initiative was driven by families of those children who encouraged others to join them in their fundraising and participation in the walk.

The school does more than just raise money, they also raise awareness. Fourth graders got to participate in a buddy program where they were paired with autistic students and wrote about their learning experience.

“We did games and music with them, used clay and walked them through the halls. I learned about autism and now I can call them my friends. I would do it again,” said Hannah Kasper, a fourth-grader at South Central.

“This is the first time we used Fitness Day to encourage donations. It went so well that we will certainly use something creative again in the future,” Tomicek said. 

Sponsored by the PTA, Fitness Day includes more than 20 different stations of activities and games, including an obstacle course, water games, parachute play, sack races and more. It was originally designed as a fun, end-of-the-year activity to promote healthy habits and outdoor play and now it will show the children that their fitness activities such as walking can support a larger cause.