At one point or another during our childhoods, almost all of us picked up a jump rope.
Whether it was a gym class requirement or something you did for fun, jump ropes were just a part of growing up. And we all remember those attempts at completing one of the many skill-testing tricks like a double under or single sideswing.
But there are some children in this world that have not had the good fortune of trying a basic double bounce (where you jump twice in one rotation of the jump rope). And Rundlett Middle School sixth grader Emilee Mills is hoping to change that for at least one part of the population.
Every year Mills and her family participate in a service project. Last year, her older sister, Brooke, organized a fundraiser to help bring books to orphanages and shelters in Bolivia as part of Rundlett’s Student Ambassadors program. Emilee saw what kind of an impact it had and wanted to do the same.
So early this year, after joining Student Ambassadors in her first year at Rundlett, Mills proposed the idea of purchasing jump ropes for Native American children on the Fort Peck Reservation in eastern Montana.
“I’m hoping to get as many people there jump ropes,” said Mills.
After providing some information for the group of 47 student ambassadors to discuss, the vote was overwhelmingly in favor of supporting Mills’s initiative.
“I thought it was a pretty great idea because a lot of the kids there probably don’t have a lot of the stuff we have,” said Ana Goble, a sixth grader.
The project is in conjunction with Love Has No Color World Project, which saw how much the people of Fort Peck were in need.
“They identified jump ropes as something they could provide kids with,” said Howie Leung, a special education teacher at Rundlett and one of two advisers for Student Ambassadors.
Through Nov. 20, raffle tickets will be sold at $1 each, and all the money will be going to purchasing jump ropes. Tickets will be sold at Sal’s Pizza and by members of the Student Ambassadors. Each student ambassador is charged with selling at least five raffle tickets, but the plan is for much more.
“Every person is going to try and sell five raffle tickets,” said seventh grader Rachel Lewis. “If everyone sells just five tickets that would be (almost) $250.”
The raffle prize is a $50 iTunes gift card, which was donated and will be drawn Nov. 20. Donations are also accepted and those interested in helping can contact Leung at hleun@concordnhschools.net.
“We talk a lot about student leadership and it’s really beneficial for us to present our ideas and help in the community,” said Mills.
The obvious goal is to raise as much money as possible to purchase the largest quantity of jump ropes for the 4,500 children of Fort Peck. Mills said her goal is for 1,000 tickets to be sold.
“I would like to have a jump rope (for everyone) and if it breaks, I’d like them to have an extra,” said Mills.
Immediately after the drawing and final amount of money is determined, Mills will order the jump ropes and have them sent straight to the reservation. Mills will be spending a week at Fort Peck, beginning on Dec. 12 and wants to make this the best Christmas yet for the children on the reservation.
But Mills’s project is just one of many things the Rundlett Student Ambassadors do to help the greater community.
“We always try to get as many things done for our community and the ones around us,” said eighth grader Ceylan Ayan.
One of the in-school initiatives is centered around PRIDE. It stands for Perseverance, Respect, Integrity, Discipline and Excellence and a real big focus is on the respect aspect of it.
“We have a lot of small projects going on,” said eighth grader Anna LeBrun.
There is a PRIDE box in the school and students are encouraged to fill out a slip with a fellow student’s name when they notice them committing a good deed around school.
“It’s something this group created to help recognize other students’ behaviors,” said Leung.
Each week, three students are chosen and receive a gift certificate to the snack shack.
“We encourage them every week to continue to show pride,” said Ayan. “It’s about being a good role model.”
Last year, the Student Ambassadors prepared and cooked meals for families staying at David’s House in Lebanon. David’s House provides a place to stay for families who have children receiving treatment at the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.
In addition to cooking the meals at David’s House, the Rundlett organization also froze meals for future families, something that hit home for eight grader Skylar Mathews, whose sister needed treatment at the Children’s Hospital for a congenital heart defect.
“I know how much you’re just wishing for home when you’re there,” said Mathews.
There was also a multicultural fair last year in conjunction with the English Language Learners program that brought together traditions from countries from all over the world.
“Everybody who came to the fair learned all about different cultures and it was really eye opening,” said Lewis.
And at the end of each May, the student ambassadors meet with incoming fifth graders for Move-Up Day. It gives the new students a chance to ask questions and learn about the school from the students who go there.
“Since (Student Ambassadors) is about making this a better place, I wanted to help,” said sixth grader Alec Galatis, who joined this year.
The Student Ambassadors program, funded by a Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce grant, is currently in its third year of existence at Rundlett. In 2011, 24 students took part, and it grew to 39 last year. This year’s 47 students is showing how the program is gaining not only popularity, but also recognition.
“A lot of what we do is what students perceive as a need,” said Leung. “And this group makes it happen.”
