Kids Heart Challenge

In what has become an annual tradition, Sunita Williams Elementary School participated in its 19th annual Kids Heart Challenge to support the American Heart Association on Friday, February 17th.  The event is coordinated by Sunita Williams Elementary School's Physical Education and Wellness teachers Rob Tatro and Kat Jacobson.  

This year, Sunita Williams School had over 300 registered students who helped find sponsorships for the event which raised a record $40,600 for the American Heart Association.  This is truly unprecedented and more than doubles our yearly goal.  Whether students chose to find sponsorships or not, students spent several weeks leading up to the event learning new jumping skills, how they are connected to heart health, and how contributing time, effort, and energy towards our goals is always what is needed and important when supporting organizations like the AHA.

Our Kids Heart Challenge is dedicated to former Hillside School teacher’s aid, Carol Virginio, who passed away in the spring of 2013.  Carol was a cancer survivor, a heart transplant recipient, and an avid supporter of this event.  Ten years after her passing, Carol’s son Mike wanted to share this message to the Sunita Williams and Needham community on behalf of himself and his sister Joanne:

First, I want to extend my deepest gratitude to all of the students, parents, the Sunita Williams School staff and donors for their support of the Kids Heart Challenge/Jump Rope for Heart event over the past 18 years. It meant so much to my sister and I when we heard that this event was going to be dedicated to my mother after her passing, and I wish I could be here on the 10th anniversary. I especially want to thank Rob Tatro, who has done an amazing job coordinating this event, which I’m told has raised over $300,000 for the American Heart Association to date! This is truly an incredible achievement and my mother would be so happy to hear that her school, and most importantly, the students that she loved so much, are helping to raise money for important heart health education, heart disease prevention, and research.

My mother would be the first to tell you how important it is to take care of your heart. When I was in school, she would periodically check in on me while I was doing my homework to see if I needed a break. If I was sitting for too long, she would tell me that it was time to stand up and get the blood flowing. Together, we would do a few jumping jacks in the living room before I returned to my homework. So it was no surprise to me that the Kids Heart Challenge/Jump Rope for Heart was one of her favorite events at school. She saw her students having fun while working hard for an important cause and, most importantly, making time to take care of themselves and their health.

My sister and I are so  honored that my mother’s name, story, and spirit continue to live on through this event. Thank you, again to everyone who helped make this year’s Kids Heart Challenge a tremendous success!

We are so lucky and blessed to have such tremendous support from the entire Needham community and beyond.  Please accept our sincerest thanks to everyone who helped make another Kid's Heart Challenge event an overwhelming success including those of you who were able to make time to volunteer during our Kid’s Heart Challenge celebration.  If anyone has any pictures or video from the event, would you mind sharing them in the 2023 Kids Heart Challenge Google Drive?  Thanks for another great year!!