The sun was shining down on the streets of Fishtown on Sunday, October 23rd as parents, teachers and students alike all came together for the first ever “walk-a-thon” organized by Adaire Home and School. The event was being held to raise money for the Alexander Adaire School’s (1300 E Palmer St) health and wellness programs. Fundraising, keeping fit and having fun in the process made for an action-packed, joyous morning for everyone involved.

While the Friends of Adaire, another organization dedicated to the local elementary school, seeks outreach with Fishtown homeowners, renters, nonprofits and businesses, Adaire’s Home and School Association organizes the parents of students enrolled at the school.

“We’re on a purely supportive role to the Home and School event. What I think this represents, whatever the terms are, is the efforts to innovate on behalf of the Home and School Association,” said Denis Devine, the Communications Chair for Friends of Adaire, who was out in support.

About 35 people turned up to show their support and commitment to improving school facilities and maintaining a good sense of community. It was $15 dollars to participate in the walk-a-thon and with this, participants received a free Adaire pint glass as a souvenir.

“This event is promoting physical fitness, and it’s also bringing family and students together in a positive activity. We’re just trying to engage as many people as we can, and for parents to spend quality time with their kids, doing things which are positive for them,” said Anna Jenkins, Principal of Alexander Adaire School.

Starting at 10AM, the walk-a-thon was 1.5 miles in total, traversing a big loop around the school and eventually ending up at Penn Treaty Park for snacks and light refreshments around 12PM.  

Many of the children completed the walk-a-thon on scooters and bikes, giving them an opportunity to interact and socialise with their classmates, whilst their parents and teachers walked alongside.

Ryan Olah, a parent of a 1st grader at Adaire, told Spirit News, “We love the work of the Friends of Adaire and we like doing everything we can to make sure that we’re involved in the community but also concentrating on making the school a really awesome place for our son, Camper, to learn.”

The fundraising event wasn’t just attended by current students and their parents, but also those who haven’t yet started at Alexander Adaire School and are looking to get involved to lay the foundations for future success.

“The goal is just to be a support to the school, to help out in any way that we can,” said Joshua Park, a parent whose son is starting at Alexander Adaire in the Fall of 2017.

The Philadelphia School District has struggled severely with underfunding for years. Many factors contribute to this such as Philadelphia bearing the burden of being both a county and a city, having to fund the prisons and the courts, leaving the district with a small budget.

Additionally, charter schools have been a financial drain on the district’s budget over the last few years. This means that the work of organizations like Adaire Home and School and Friends of Adaire are pivotal to the school’s success.

Denis Devine added, “It’s not the worst time [in terms of the state and city funding of education], but it’s still really bad, so efforts like this with grassroots fundraising to supplement what should be here is maddening, ridiculous and necessary. I’m happy to come out here and support, but I’m annoyed that I have to.”

Thanks to organizations such as the Adaire Home and School and the Friends of Adaire, Adaire School is thriving, aiming to hold a fundraising event at least once a month. With a happy community spirit amongst the parents, students and teachers, Adaire is a wonderful place to be.

“This is our son Camper’s first year at Adaire and he absolutely loves it. His teacher Mrs. White is amazing and all the good programs they have going on for him. There is almost too much going on, but that’s a great problem to have,” said Ryan Olah.

Friends of Adaire’s next fundraising event takes place Thursday, October 27th at Frankford Hall  (1210 Frankford Ave) with Halloween themed face painting, games and a Halloween parade. Be sure to come down and show your support for Friends of Adaire and mingle with the community.

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