Middle Gate Students

Run For A Good Cause

By Jeff White

Through the unseasonably cold air that swirled around Middle Gate Elementary Monday afternoon, third-grader Kevin Canavan tramped across the finish line ahead of all his classmates during the school’s annual Turkey Trot, a race that will help provide food for needy Newtown families this Thanksgiving.

“The course was pretty easy,” Kevin concluded of the half-mile jog, which took students around playgrounds, through woods, up and down hills, and eventually through Middle Gate’s parking lot. Fifth- and fourth-graders ran a mile, while kindergartners through third-graders ran a half-mile. 

For Laura Cooper, who organized the trot, the event had two purposes: besides providing students with a chance to get some exercise, it was a great opportunity for students to serve their community. As an entry fee for running the race, students had to pay in the form of canned goods, all of which were culled for delivery to Women Involved in Newtown (WIN); the group is running its Thanksgiving food drive for Newtown families from the Sandy Hook Fire station.

The Turkey Trot has been a tradition for the past ten years, Mrs Cooper estimated, and according to an early count Monday afternoon, the race had collected over 500 cans of soup, stuffing and gravy, among other items.

Joining Kevin Canavan was his classmate Nora Lynn Shimko, who took first place in the race for third-grade girls. Fifth-grade winners were Charles Baldour and Meridith Palo; fourth-grade winners were P.J. Cochrane and Harriet Morgan; and second-grade winners included Ryan Daley and Mary Plavnicky.

The Turkey Trot is only one way Middle Gate aids WIN every year. Each year, classes sponsor different families throughout Newtown, raising money and food for them independent of the actual Turkey Trot. This year, Middle Gate classes are sponsoring 14 families, up from 11 families last year.

Every fifth-grade classroom adopted a family, as did every second- and third-grade classroom. Two classrooms in both first- and fourth-grade adopted families.

“It’s tremendous that kids are taking an active role and learning at an early age that there are people around us that need help,” said Karen Keating, a WIN co-chair.

Middle Gate parents will also help out, by giving their time to distributing the food to the Sandy Hook fire station by Friday night.

Each year, WIN canvases Newtown, trying to find sponsors who can help families that do not have the means to enjoy Thanksgiving. Their annual food drive is sponsored by Newtown Social Services.

Last year, WIN provided food for over 70 families, and as of Monday of this week, 71 families were slated to receive food through WIN’s efforts.

For Mark Schevnemann and Ian Cooper, the Turkey Trot might be first and foremost a race. But the two third-graders, who came in second and third, respectively, nodded their heads along with their friends when asked if they realized that they ran for a good cause.

Of the 71 needy families that will enjoy a better Thanksgiving this year in Newtown, Middle Gate students, by running and donating, will have helped nearly 20 percent of them.