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Cardinal dash yields $16,000 for Luverne Elementary booster club

Subhead
PPIE meets goal, extra money goes toward two gaga pits
Lead Summary
By
Mavis Fodness

This year’s annual Cardinal Dash fundraiser at Luverne Elementary School yielded $16,180 for the school’s Parent Partners in Education (PPIE) group.
The amount topped the group’s $13,000 goal.
The event returned this year (after last year’s cancellation) under coronavirus guidelines.
Instead of running as a school in an end-of-the-day event, students completed their “dash” during scheduled physical education/music classes throughout Wednesday, May 5.
No visitors were allowed to participate with the students, and only a few parent volunteers were used.
Due to the rainy weather, several classes completed the dash in the gymnasium.
The Cardinal Dash fundraiser kicked off in mid-April when each student was challenged to sell eight cardinal notes or pledges for $10 apiece. Students pledge to run a half-mile to a two-mile course as part of the Cardinal Dash.
Second-graders were the top pledge earners followed by first grade and the kindergartners earned third place.
The second-grade students of teacher Kristen Schomacker were the top pledge earners followed by the first-grade class of Angie Ahrendt/Lisa Lundgren. Following in third place was Lori Nath’s second-grade class.
The first Cardinal Dash was in 2015 for the kindergarten through fifth-grade students. The event replaced PPIE’s annual frozen food fundraiser.
PPIE uses the money to support special activities within Luverne Elementary.
In the past, the group has sponsored the Prairie Ecology Bus, family reading night, swimming lessons, author visits, respect lunch, school patrol trips, snacks during MCA tests and teacher appreciation gifts.
The money raised over the group’s goal will go toward an outdoor Gaga Ball pit. Amy Chapa is PPIE president.
“The kids were so excited for the Gaga Ball pit that they sold, sold, sold! We made $3,180 more than our goal so they will be getting two pits instead of one,” she said.
“I am so proud of how hard they worked to help PPIE.”

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