Mount Pleasant Elementary School held the annual PTA Walkathon on September 29.

The weather was perfect for students in each grade level to take to the track, joined by their teachers, families, friends, neighbors, and some members of the Roanoke County Schools Central Office staff. Their purpose was to raise funds for PTA programs at the school this year.

The Walkathon is the PTA’s main fundraiser at MPE each year in which students solicit donations for each lap they complete, sparing them and their families the tasks of selling candy, wrapping paper, or other items to the community.

The Walkathon brings in thousands of dollars to fund most PTA projects at the school for the year.

Families are invited to walk the track with their students. Principal Ellen Walton walked a lap with each grade level, beginning with the fifth grade at 8 a.m.

Physical education teacher Allison Angell coordinated the event along with PTA volunteers who were handing out bottles of water to keep students hydrated. She spoke to each grade level before and after their laps and explained that the Walkathon would help fund field trips, field day, and special programs. One project for the funds this year might include some landscaping on the school grounds.

The Walkathon is not only a fundraiser, but an opportunity to promote fitness in the school and community.