On February 11, Tolbert Elementary School students in grades kindergarten through fifth grade put on a smile, grabbed a jump rope, and jumped and danced to the music in the semi-annual Jump Rope for Heart celebration. Almost 600 students participated and together raised $7,524.00 for the American Heart Association. This amount was almost doubled from the amount collected in 2009.

“Coach Wilkins and I are very proud of the students’ effort for raising such a large amount in the slow economy and would like to thank all individuals and businesses who donated to the cause,” said Debbie Mixon, physical education teacher at Tolbert.

The slogan for this year’s event was “Be a Heart Hero.” Students learned about heart disease and stroke and also saw testimonials from children who were born with heart defects. The coaches explained how the donations would be used by the American Heart Association for research and to help save lives. The students learned that by raising money, they would be “heart heroes.”

Ashley Holmes was the top fundraiser, bringing in $1,193. Other top fundraisers included Zeb Reddix with $150, Emma Fouts with $176.68, Olivia Forrest with $205.10, Levi Franklin with $261.

Tolbert would also like to recognize Chick-Fil-A for their willingness to help by donating gift cards for food items to those who participated in the fund raising. The students wore a big smile when they were called up to receive their gift card.