2009 Walk-a-Thon!
Web page last updated on September 30, 2009
Mark your calendars! Our 2009 Walk-a-Thon is scheduled for Thursday, October 29th!! This year's theme is "Spartans walk for FITNESS." You will find the Sponsor sheet, the mandatory T-shirt form, and an informational flyer in the Wednesday, September 30th Connection. All SLEMS children will receive a free official Walk-a-Thon T-shirt to be worn on Walk-a-Thon day, which will be used for marking laps completed.
IMPORTANT: In order for your student to receive the right size T-shirt, you must complete the top half of the T-shirt form and return it by Thursday, October 15th. Our 2009 goal is $25,000!!
Click on a topic below to jump to that section of this website, and read all about it:
** Important Dates
** Prizes!
** General Walk-a-Thon Information
** Forms and Sample Email for soliciting pledges
** FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
Or, scroll to the bottom of the page and take the Walk-a-Thon Quiz (just for fun!)
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Forms and information distributed in Wednesday Connection on September 30, 2009.
T-shirt forms due on Thursday, October 15th. This includes the Mandatory part (student's t-shirt size, parent signature), and any options you may choose (prepay $100/student, max $200/family and get names printed on back of shirts, and/or order extra t-shirts for family members at $10 each).
WALK-A-THON DAY!! Thursday, October 29th. Pre-K and K walk from 10-11am, grades 1-8 walk from 12:30-2:30pm. Pledge forms due on this day.
All pledged money will be due on Thursday, November 19th. Money should be collected and turned in by this day, and only money turned in on time can be used toward calculating prizes.
Thank you!
Click here to view the list of pre-paid T-Shirt Names
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The prizes below will be awarded at a future Student Assembly in December. We'll post the winner's first names and last initial on this page at that time.
Grand Prize: The SLEMS student who collects and turns in the most money by Thursday, November 19th wins $100 in his/her choice of SCRIP gift card(s)!
Top Class Prize: The SLEMS homeroom that collects and turns in the most money by Thursday, November 19th wins their choice of a class pizza or ice cream party!!
Individual classroom prizes: The individual student in each classroom who collects the most money for that classroom wins a AMC movie ticket and a Walk-a-Thon mug!
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The Walk-a-Thon is a major fundraiser for our school. It is the ONLY fundraiser where 100% of the money raised goes directly to the school. And because there are no goods or services received for the contributions, the money is tax-deductible to the sponsors (see your tax advisor for specifics).
During the month of October, our students/families solicit monetary pledges from friends, relatives, neighbors and parents' co-workers for participation in the Walk-a-Thon. Pledges can either be a flat amount or a per-lap amount. Parents are encouraged to check with their employers for a matching contribution program; many companies provide a matching dollar amount for charitable donations to schools.
Students walk laps around our marked route on the school campus on Thursday, October 29th during school hours. Each lap is approximately 1/7 of a mile.
** Pre-K and Kindergarten walk from 10-11am, and stay in a group with their classmates and their teachers to complete their laps. Historically, these students have walked approximately 10 laps during their allotted time.
** Grades 1-8 walk from 12:30-2:30pm, each student at his/her own pace. Completed laps are marked on the back of each student's T-shirt by teachers only. Immediately following the walking time, volunteers visit each classroom to count the number of laps marked on each T-shirt and document the amounts. These tallies are used to calculate pledge totals for those sponsors who have pledged money on a per-lap basis, as well as to calculate total distance walked by the entire school.
Students can wear free dress on Walk-a-Thon day (in accordance with the free dress guidelines in the Student Handbook). The Walk-a-Thon T-shirts will be delivered to the classrooms on the morning of the Walk-a-Thon, and students will be able to change into the shirts before their walking time.
Students have the two weeks following the event to collect pledged money from their sponsors. All collected money is due to the school office on Thursday, November 19th.
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Please go to the Connection Extension homepage, click on the September 30th Connection and you will be able to print any of the Walk-a-Thon forms. If you are unable to access these forms, you can email us at the email link located at the top of this web page, and we can send you a copy via email.
T-Shirt Form -- used for telling us your student's T-shirt size, and (optionally) to get your student's name included in a list on the back of the T-shirt by attaching a pre-payment of $100/student (max $200/family). You would also use this form if you opt to order additional Walk-a-Thon t-shirts for family members at $10 each. This form is due to the office by Thursday, October 15th.
Sponsor Sheet -- used for documenting pledge amounts from individual sponsors. This form is due to the office by Thursday, October 29th. The total amounts pledged will be documented in our Walk-a-Thon database for tracking purposes, and per-lap pledges will be calculated based on actual laps walked by each student. Many families collect flat-amount pledges and turn them in with the forms by the Walk-a-Thon day. If an outstanding balance is still owed, we will return this form to you the following week so you can collect the remaining pledged amounts and turn all money in to the office by Thursday, November 19th.
Click here for a Sample Email when requesting pledges.
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Here are some commonly asked questions about the Walk-a-Thon. Do you have a question that isn't answered here? Please email us at "stlawrencewalkathon@yahoo.com" and let us know your question. We can email you a reply, and we may also post it (anonymously) here!
1. Do Walk-a-Thon donations count toward my fundraising obligation of $150/student (max $300/family)? Yes, they certainly do! In fact, this is the way to get the most money for the school directly, because all of the money contributed to the Walk-a-Thon goes to the school, rather than some going to the cost of a product as with other fundraisers.
2. What if we get sponsors from outside our family to donate money; does that still count toward our fundraising obligation? Absolutely! 100% of money collected from any source that is turned in under your child's name for the Walk-a-Thon counts toward your fundraising obligation. Please feel free to use the sample email wording in the form "Sample Email to Get Pledges", posted in the Forms section above, to help you encourage potential sponsors to support your child and our school.
3. If my company does matching funds for schools, will that also count toward my fundraising obligation? Yes! This is a great way to get your obligation taken care of without costing you much money! Just fill out your company's matching donation form and turn it into us, and we'll process it to collect the money and credit your fundraising amount.
4. Are Walk-a-Thon donations tax-deductible? Yes, because you are not receiving a specific product or service in return for the contribution. We are not tax experts, so if you have further questions please contact a tax accountant, but this is the general description for tax-deductibility as we understand it. Your cancelled check made out to "SLEMS" is your receipt.
5. When do I need to turn in the money for the Walk-a-Thon? There are three answers: First, if you want to get your child's name printed on the back of the free Walk-a-Thon shirt, you need to pre-pay $100/child (max $200/family) by Thursday, October 15, 2008. This is optional. Second, all pledge sheets along with any money you may have already collected should be turned in on Thursday, October 29th which is the Walk-a-Thon day, so we can tally up the amounts pledged. Third, all pledged and collected Walk-a-Thon donations should be turned in along with your pledge or Sponsor List by Thursday, November 19, 2009 You are welcome to turn in money sooner than this date if you wish.
6. How does the pre-pay work? You write a check (or turn in cash) by the pre-pay due date of October 15th. You get sponsors to pledge money, and collect it from them. You may keep the money up to the pre-pay amount, and then turn in any additional money to the school. For example, you pre-pay $100. Then you get friends and family to sponsor your student for a total of $250. You can "reimburse" yourself for your pre-payment by keeping $100 and turn the remaining $150 in to the school. The school has collected $250 on behalf of your child -- $100 up front, then $150 after the event. This would end up being the same if you didn't pre-pay, and just collected the $250 from sponsors and turned in the whole $250 to the school after the event.
7. How are the prize winners selected? The individual student(s) and the classroom collecting the most money and turning it in by November 19th will win the prizes. Just turning in the Sponsor List with pledges listed on it will not count, it must be money actually collected and turned in by the due date of November 19th. If your sponsors don't give you the money by the due date, you should still collect it from them and turn it in to the school, because the school will still be counting on receiving the money. However, the money collected after this date won't be counted toward the prizes.
8. Can I get credit for parent volunteer hours by working at the Walk-a-Thon? Absolutely! We welcome parent volunteers, and this is a great way to get in some of those 30 required volunteer hours! There are plenty of things to do on the day of the event as well as before the event. Please contact us at the email address at the top of this web page to volunteer, and let us know your time availability so we can plan what you can do. You might prefer to donate some items for the event; every $10 you spend in donations counts as 1 hour of parent volunteer time.
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