CRESTVIEW — Bob Sikes Elementary School has accepted Southside Center's ALS ice bucket challenge.
But the Bullpups will have to raise more than $446.18 for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis research if they want to compete with Southside.
Each Southside class recently learned about ALS, the neurodegenerative disease also called Lou Gehrig's disease.
“We think it’s very important for us to have service projects at the school,” Southside principal Debra Haan said.
After each lesson, first-grade teacher Candis Sharon asked her students to reflect on what they learned.
“The next day, we would discuss, 'What if this was you?'” she said. “Would you want others to do this (fundraising) for you?”
The lesson culminated Wednesday as first-graders splashed Sharon and physical education coach Kassy Johnson with ice-cold water.
Sharon's 13 students collected $78, more than any other Southside class, she said. Pouring the water on Sharon and Johnson was the students' reward.
“It was an extra incentive that she gave to her students,” Haan said. “She stepped up.”
The fundraiser began two weeks ago, and it didn't take long for Sharon to realize her students would meet their goal.
“It was amazing; every time I counted the (dollar) bills, I would just get chillier and chillier,” she said.
The children's efforts to aid ALS research were impressive, Johnson said.
“These kids worked really hard,” she said. “We are a small school and we raised a lot of money.”
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Matthew Brown, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Teacher motivates students to support ALS research (VIDEO)