Students braved the cold and avoided becoming Butterball turkeys prior to Thanksgiving at their annual Turkey Trot on Nov. 27.
The annual fundraiser saw 500-plus students in pre-kindergarten to fifth grade run, walk or wheel around the Sequim School District’s athletic field in an effort to raise funds for the Six Books for Summer program.
As of Dec. 3, organizers said students raised just over $16,500 of their $18,000 goal.
“We’re about $7,000 over last year’s total so we see that as a positive,” said Tennille Bixby, with the school’s Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO).
Students received more than 580 donations online with top earners seeing more than $500 and $450. Top earners and runners will each receive prizes while others will be entered in drawings for prizes.
Bixby said Six Books for Summer, where each student picks out six grade level-appropriate books to take home and read over the summer, is covered by donations and additional funds will support other PTO programs. PTO organizers thank the community for their support.
For more information about Helen Haller’s PTO, visit www.facebook.com/HelenHallerPTO or contact them at SequimHHEPTO@gmail.com.
Kindergartner Dylan Purkey jumps off to a fast start during the Turkey Trot on Nov. 27. Students in kindergarten-second grade ran or walked in one group while third-fifth graders went in another for 30 minutes each. Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash
Second grader Damoni Gonzales rides an exercise bike care of the YMCA of Sequim to keep warm in-between laps during Helen Haller Elementary’s Turkey Trot where cold winds made the event tough to traverse. Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash
Second grade teacher Teresa Thorson walks the track with her class during Helen Haller’s Turkey Trot. She and other teachers took laps with their students in support of the Six Books for Summer program. Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash
