Gilbert Elementary School’s safety patrol started the school year with an idea: the fourth-and-fifth graders wanted to get the rest of their school in shape.
The yellow-vested students put together sports clinics and weekly Zumba classes. Calling themselves Mustangs on a Mission, they started to see a difference taking shape. Ideas grew into a community health education seminar and a staff walking/running club.
On Thursday, the Mustangs received the ultimate payoff for a year of hard work.
Pandemonium erupted in the Gilbert cafeteria at 8:24 a.m., when a coyote was let loose in the room. Some students screamed and others stood in shock while confetti exploded around the room and the Spurs Coyote ran through the crowd. A $20,000 check went to Gilbert for students to expand their project by starting a 5K to benefit the American Heart Association and adding more fitness classes.
“It’s a miracle,” one student said, tears streaming down his face.
And that was just the first stop on the Team Up Challenge Champions Road Trip presented by SWBC.
The Coyote, Silver Dancers and representatives of Silver & Black Give Back and SWBC hopped back on the bus to visit four more schools across the San Antonio area. They traveled 158 total miles to three elementary schools, a middle school and a high school, giving out a total of $100,000.
Now in its sixth year, the Team Up Challenge, a service-learning program, empowers children to give back to their communities through service projects. The five champion schools on Thursday had projects that ranged from disaster relief, building houses and feeding the hungry.
The Team Up schools also will be recognized at Sunday’s game against Golden State on Silver & Black Give Back Night. Proceeds from a jersey auction after the game with raise money for SBGB programs, including the Team Up Challenge.
“I’m really impressed by these kids, because they have giving back instilled into them at such an early age,” said Joan Cleveland, President and CEO of SWBC Life Insurance Company. “It becomes the fabric of what they do as an adult, and that’s tremendous.”
Earlier this year, 18 Team Up Challenge semifinalists were selected to receive grants and support from SS&E players, coaches and staff for various projects and initiatives.
The five champions selected on Thursday each received $20,000 to grow their projects. They included Gilbert and four others:
- Northwest Crossing Elementary, whose Caring Cardinals put together food packs to feed food insecure students. While students receive free lunch during the week, many of them don’t have lunch for weekends, holidays or during the summer.
- Mountain Valley Middle School, which is raising funds for disaster recovery after flooding hit the area in May and October of 2015. With the prize for being a Team Up Champion, the school will purchase a flood siren to place on the Guadalupe River.
- Warren High School, which built wooden toys and furniture for charities, along with walls for a house for Habitat For Humanity.
- Fox Run Elementary, whose health and wellness ambassadors worked on educating students about healthy eating and organized a school 5K.
Fox Run fifth graders Haley Lopez and Iliana Chavez worked with school cafeteria workers to help select healthy eating options for students. With the Champion prize, the school will build outdoor exercise equipment and make track improvements for community use.
“I learned how food affects the way I am,” Chavez said. “We talked to the school about being active and eating healthy, and I like vegetables a little bit now.”
lchan@attcenter.com
Twitter:@lornechan
For more on the Team Up Challenge, visit www.TeamUpChallenge.com