The Parish School's First Ever Bike-A-Thon Raises $16,000 for Local Charities

The Parish School elementary students learned the importance of giving back to the community by organizing the first ever campus Bike-A- Thon, which was held on Friday, May 21, 2021. Four charities were identified as possible beneficiaries, and students had the opportunity to learn about each organization’s mission before voting for their favorite. After the votes were tallied, the students elected for Parish Bike-A-Thon funds to benefit both HTX Art and Kids’ Meals, Inc.!

In the weeks leading up to the event, students asked for donations from their families and families’ friends to support their efforts. Students brought in their donations each week and excitement grew! A week before the big day, Officer R.A. Arriaga and Officer E. Netro from the Houston Police Department stopped by the school to talk to our students about bike safety, including the importance of wearing a helmet and how to pass other bikers safely.

On the day of the event, the campus was bursting with Parish spirit as students cruised around the circle drive to support two great causes during our inaugural Bike-A-Thon! Through their hard work over the month prior, they’ve raised $8,000 for each charity - HTX Art and Kids’ Meals. Amazing! Houston Police Department officers, who had visited campus the week before, came back out to support our event and rode in the event themselves. They were so generous to spend their time making sure our kids rode safely, and even awarded a skateboard and helmet to the rider with the most laps in each class!

The students had two main takeaways from the Bike-a-Thon event. First, this event really allowed students to work on/use their social thinking skills and executive function when communicating with others about the event and the purpose of the event. Some students even made videos for Facebook while others went door to door in their neighborhoods. And second, the students learned the value of giving back to their community. When presenting a check to each charity, they learned that their donations provided 4,000 meals to area preschoolers, and literacy and art activities will be brought to underserved neighborhoods. Katina C. in the Tigers class and Colton I. in the Navigators class were also recognized with Certificates of Citizenship for being our top fundraisers!

We are so proud of the work our students have done to help support the community and for the skills they exercised!