By Rikki Cason<br><a href="mailto:rikki.cason@journal-register.com">E-mail Rikki</a>
HOLLEY — Chanting “jump” over and over, more than 110 students prepared for a morning of jumping rope to raise money for the American Heart Association.
The 25th annual Jump Rope for Heart event was held Saturday at Holley Elementary School.
“It’s a worthy cause,” said school organizer and physical education teacher Lisa Campbell. “The kids have fun and get to exercise.”
Campbell began the fundraiser
25 years ago when she was approached by a worker for the heart association about the children’s high blood pressure. That, along with her own father passing away of heart disease at age 62, gave her the motivation to make a difference with the kids she teaches.
Since then, Campbell has helped the Holley community raise more than $206,000 to help fight heart disease.
“As long as I have kids who want to sign up, I’ll keep doing it,” Campbell said. “It’s great to raise money for the heart association, but it brings everyone together.”
Wanting to make the 25th event special, Campbell worked to bring Anthony “Buddy” Lee to perform and speak for the students.
Lee is a 1992 member of the United States Olympic Team in Greco Roman wrestling, three-time world Military Champion and World Cup Medalist, 20-time national wrestling champion and two-time Marine athlete of the year. He is also known for his jump rope skills and traveling around putting on demonstrations, workshops and exhibitions. His own jump rope is the official rope used for the U.S. Olympic Team.
Lee performed for the students Friday and spoke and performed during Saturday’s event.
“It’s a community effort to encourage people to have a better lifestyle,” he said. “It’s my mission to motivate, educate and encourage people to jump rope as a way of life.”
He also spoke about the person who the Jump Rope for the Heart is dedicated to this year.
On Nov. 2, the Holley Central School District lost its soccer coach and former student to heart disease. At the age of 40, Campbell said Noel Lutes was very active and important to the school community.
“We dedicated the whole event to him,” Campbell said. “We want to make it extra special for the family.”
“We hope Holley raises a ton of money,” said son Keith Lutes, who spoke during the event. He said he hopes a cure for heart disease will one day be found.
The two-hour event consisted of teams of students taking turns jumping rope. During the first hour the children took turns jumping for two minutes at a time, then took a 10-minute break before jumping again. The second hour the longer ropes for Double-Dutch, pogo sticks and other equipment was brought out for the kids to play and have fun with.
“The part I like the most is on Saturday,” Campbell said. “We get parents here and staff and administration. Everybody comes together.
Campbell hopes the money Holley raises can go to prevent more sad stories from happening, through research, education and raising awareness.
