Rebecca Burk / L’Observateur / April 10, 1998

LAPLACE – Students at John L. Ory Elementary took two hours to jump rope for a good cause Wednesday afternoon.

Each jump got researchers at the American Heart Association one step closer to a cure for heart disease.

Students at the school in kindergarten through seventh grade participated in Jump Rope for Heart. They got donations or sponsors who paid an amount of money for each minute they kept at it. The school raised over $700.

If students weren’t able to find a sponsor, they had to pay $2 to participate. That money was also given to the association.

Physical education teacher and school coordinator at John L. Ory, Kelley Landry, said each grade had from 30-45 minutes of jump time. She added that students could jump for a few minutes and pass it on to another classmate, or if they were up for it they could jump the entire time their class was jumping.

To go along with the healthy heart theme, students ate bananas and juice after they finished jumping. Landry said the snacks were donated by Delchamps, Winn-Dixie and Schwegmann’s.

“We’re also trying to promote healthy eating habits,” Landry said.

Also on hand were representatives from River Parishes Hospital who had a display with information about healthy hearts so students will know tips on how to prevent heart disease in the future.

This is the second year John L. Ory has participated in the fund-raiser. In fact, all of the schools in the River Parishes have been responsive and willing to allow the students to jump for a good cause, said Zina Catoire, community manager of Jump Rope for Heart.

“I go to so many schools and the teachers are so willing to help,” she said.

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