On Saturday, several thousand Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools students, parents, teachers, school administrators and community members gathered for the annual Walk for Education.
The Walk for Education is the biggest annual fundraising event for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Public School Foundation, an organization created to generate money for programs in the district.
This year, the walk raised more than $120,000.
Saturday marked the 17th year of the event. In that time, the event has raised $641,759. Initially, the foundation funded clubs, sports and other extracurricular activities, but it now helps cover budget shortages in public schools.
The walk began in McCorkle Place on UNC’s campus with dozens of excited and screaming elementary school students leading the way, cheering for their respective schools. The orange-shirted students gathered with their classes and teachers to walk together. There were several mascots roaming the crowd pumping up the participants.
Sara Philipson, a CHCCS teacher, said the number of students from elementary schools outnumbered the students from the middle and high schools.
Tara Presley , a parent of a CHCCS student, said after cuts to the school budget, money from the event helps to cover basic classroom supplies.
“The legislature has cut so much money, we’re now buying copy paper and maybe some markers,” she said.
Her third-grade daughter, Nell Jarskog, who has attended the event since kindergarten, said she always enjoys seeing her friends and helping her school.
