As the AEEF observes how District 131 faculty are progressing with their mini-grant funding, we continue to discover what we already knew: East Aurora teachers are passionate about helping their kids grow both in and out of the classroom.

At Johnson School, first grade teachers Saul Olivas and Carol Mertes have combined their efforts to encourage their students to become physically fit and, at the same time, to help others in great need.

Saul, who has enjoyed both competitive and recreational running since he was a child and has run in marathons, started Johnson’s affiliation with the national “100 Mile Club” several years ago. Kids who join the club are supervised by Saul and Carol in after-school running activity, and receive awards for attaining milestones.

Although there is a fee for students to join, Carol, Saul, and many Johnson teachers sponsor kids and pay their fees.

“Running is not only a good way to maintain good health, but it helps me to set goals and also to try to eat healthy,” Saul said. “These are good lessons for the kids.”

This year, Saul and Carol, with help from an AEEF mini-grant, have found a way to make running and exercise even more meaningful for Johnson students.

“Last spring, I read about the UNICEF Kid Power Band program, and we thought we could merge this with the ‘100 Mile Club,’” Carol said. “We received two classroom sets of Power Bands and a tablet for each teacher. Our AEEF grant covered almost the entire cost.”

When children wear the bands, their steps are counted and monitored remotely. Some kids who participate in the “100 Mile Club” wear the Power Bands there also. Points are earned based on steps taken by students, and points then translate to meal packets provided to starving children by UNICEF. The packets then are translated to lives saved, and the kids of Johnson have already saved two lives.

“It takes a lot of steps to get a meal packet for a child, and then 150 packets to save a child’s life,” said Carol. “We keep the kids updated with how we’re doing as a school.”

Through the efforts of Carol and Saul, the school was able to get a UNICEF grant to fund four more classroom sets of Power Bands for grades two through five, and there are now six classrooms participating.

“We now have about 150 kids involved,” Carol said. “We are trying to develop global citizens.”

Saul sees their running programs reaching beyond physical fitness.

“When I saw this program, I thought ‘what a great way for our kids to be of service in a small way,’” he said.

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