In September, Ascend Now’s team took to the streets for our bi-annual walkathon. This walkathon aimed to raise funds to purchase interactive and educational activities for Institución Educativa Matecaña, a public school located in the coffee triangle city of Pereira, Colombia. As a team, we aimed to walk 4 million steps, about a million steps further than we had achieved in March, to raise 2,000 dollars!

With such a grand target, the team set off well and everyone added movement into their daily schedules. It wasn’t easy but by the end of the month, there was a general consensus that some positive, healthy habits had begun to form. It was incredibly heartwarming that as a team we could come together to prioritize our health while being able to give back to a community too.

Lina, Ascend Now’s Head of Design, stayed in close contact with Sonia, a teacher at Institución Educativa Matecaña, to organize things from start to finish. She carefully explained the situation that many of the school’s children were experiencing, “Some of these kids don’t live with their parents, staying behind to live with a neighbor or distant relative. Its really an at risk neighborhood with gangs and exposure to drugs, we try our best to keep them away from that. We teach them values and virtues that are not often taught at home.” It’s a noble but challenging task for a school that caters to children from Kindergarten all the way through to high school and only occupies a single block.

As we tallied the steps together at the end of the month, the team was elated to find that we had done better than March! In total we had walked 3,567,802 steps and raised enough money to provide the activities that Sonia and Institución Educativa Matecaña had identified would be best for their learners.

“Suave, suave” (careful, careful). The joy on the faces of the students was clear to see as they pulled open the packages and began to play! A 4th grade student could barely contain her excitement, jumping around on the spot waiting for her turn.

Watching her students play and explore their new items, Sonia chatted away, “This is the first time our students have been able to play with and interact with toys usually found in private schools, the kids are beyond excited to have been able to receive this gift and we are thankful to Ascend Now for having considered our school and invested in their education.”

We know that for us it may not seem like a lot but for the students at Institución Educativa Matecaña is had a different kind of impact. Ascend Now values community and a giving spirit highly in our journey as a business and we are adamant that we must continue to give back to communities who are less fortunate than we are. We thank Institución Educativa Matecaña for trusting in us and can’t wait for next year to see who we can impact next.

Check out our walkathon highlights over the year.