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Education Grant WinnerEdwina Soto

Taking part in physical education class is a fun escape from the regular day-to-day for students. Not only does gym allow students to exercise and build good health habits, but it also teaches them teamwork, all while taking their mind of other pressing school matters and enjoying some quality recess time, if you will.

Edwina Soto, educator at Wiederstein Elementary, envisioned her students excelling in team chemistry, getting in some good exercise, and all while having fun in doing so—but she needed the funds to make it all happen. Thanks to Power of the Dollar® members, she was awarded a $1,000 grant in December 2024 for her “Parachute Day” idea, which she then used to purchase a massive parachute that would be able to accommodate her large class sizes, along with some accessories for teamwork-oriented activities.

“We did have a parachute, but it had holes in it, and it didn’t work for all of the things that the kids wanted to do—it was also very small,” said Soto. “I remember doing parachute as a child in elementary, and if you ask adults now what they remember, that’s one of the first things that they say! Parents come in all the time and ask, ‘Have you done parachute yet?’. We wanted to give our students that experience, so that’s where my inspiration came from.”

It has been providing quite the wonderful experience it was intended to from the start. From being paired on teams to playing games that support cardiovascular health, the impact the parachute has made far surpasses all the initial expectations it had. The second the kids get to the gym, their eyes are focused right on the parachute, ready to explore the next chapter with it. The excitement that is on the students’ faces is something to smile about, and Ms. Soto is just happy she gets to experience this each day.

“The impact on my students since we got the grant has been incredible; they were so excited,” she said. “As soon as they walk in the door and they see the parachute laid out on the floor, you just hear, ‘Yes!’. No one feels left out and it’s not something that they have to have a lot of athletic ability to participate in, so it meets everyone’s needs and it is fun for the entire class.”

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To make this process as quick as possible, please have the following ready for yourself and any joint account holders on the account, including beneficiary’s:

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