Northgate Navigators Hunter Nix, from left, Emma Guajardo, Lo’gyn Barker, Sebastian Rojas and Enzo Jones take a quick break during the Northgate Crossing Jump Rope for Heart campaign.

HOUSTON – Feb. 18, 2016 – Students at Northgate Crossing Elementary School raised a total of $7,525 for the American Heart Association during the Jump Rope for Heart 2016 Campaign. This is the eighth consecutive year that the Northgate Navigators have participated in the event, during which they raised over $63,000.

Marla Estes, a physical education teacher and team leader at Northgate Crossing, organizes the yearly event and sees the enthusiasm in the children as they work hard to raise money and participate in the fun-filled physical activities during the day-long event.

“The kids have so much fun during Jump Rope for Heart. They jump, run, hop, skip and stay physically fit and aware, all while learning about the heart and multiple ways to keep it healthy,” said Estes. “The best part of the campuswide activity is keeping the students engaged, having fun and raising money for a wonderful cause that affects kids just like them.”

Estes notes that the major goals of the campaign are to increase the students’ knowledge of their hearts and the best ways to keep them healthy, honor those in the community affected by heart disease, and to raise funds to support the American Heart Association.

According to the American Heart Association’s website, the organization’s goal is to improve the cardiovascular health of Americans.They challenge kids to start living a healthy lifestyle now to prevent problems later; and give them an opportunity to participate in a service learning project that funds the fight against heart diseases and stroke – the #1 and #5 cause of death in our country.