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HISD Fundraisers Don’t Let Recession Slow Them Down

These participants from Highland Heights Elementary School were just a few of the hundreds of HISD students, administrators, and employees who took part in the March of Dimes March for Babies on April 26, 2009. As of May 19, HISD teams had raised almost $15,000 to help prevent premature birth.

Troubled economic times may have forced many American families to tighten their belts and cut back on expenses—but even the current financial slump couldn’t stop the HISD family from raising even more money for the March of Dimes’ signature fundraising event in 2009 than it did in 2007.

Encouraged by HISD Superintendent of Schools Abelardo Saavedra again this spring to help ensure that all babies have a healthy start in life, students, administrators, teachers, and other HISD employees raised almost $16,000 in donations as part of the 2009 March of Dimes March for Babies event on April 26. The 2007 total was just under $15,000.

“Hard times affect everyone,” said Dr. Saavedra, “and many Houstonians are struggling to make ends meet. That’s why I feel so proud of the HISD family. Their dedication to children’s health motivated them to raise even more for the March of Dimes this year than they did two years ago, before the recession began.”

The top three fundraisers from HISD this year (based on monies turned in as of May 19, 2009) were:

• Pin Oak Middle School: $1,678
• Walter Fondren Elementary School: $1,300
• T. H. Rogers School: $1,120

Other schools that made significant contributions this year were: Highland Heights Elementary School ($1,059), Jane Long Middle School ($960), James Madison High School ($572), and Ralph W. Emerson Elementary School ($456).

The grand total raised by the more than 400 HISD-affiliated walkers this year (also as of May 19, 2009) was $15,949. Roughly a tenth of that figure, or $1,580, was generated from the second annual “Jeans for Babies” initiative alone, in which district employees who work at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center could pay $5 per Friday for up to five weeks for the chance to wear jeans to work.