A wave of white foam marked the finish line at Quail Hollow Elementary’s first fun run — and the 370 students couldn’t get enough of it. 

“The end reward was the foam machine at the end of the quarter-mile fun run,” said PTA fundraising chair Cassidy Ulrich. “They were excited about that.”

The fun run was the grand finale to the school’s annual PTA fundraiser, which set a goal of $17,000 to support everything from field trips to teacher grants. By the end of the week, donations surpassed expectations, reaching $18,382.83 with contributions still coming in.

“This year, we decided that we would do a fun run as a celebration for everything that all the work that everyone’s been doing to help meet our goal. We wanted to bring the community together and have kind of like a closing celebration,” she said.

Students, families and staff filled the school campus to cheer or race the course; even Principal Jeff Nalwalker and teachers ran in inflatable costumes. 

“The kids really loved that part,” Ulrich said. “They all liked getting a medal at the finish line too.”

It was a close race for fifth graders with a photo-finish between Henry Hansen and Hudson Carlaw, both soccer players, who were eager to check out the foam bubbles.

“It was close all the way,” Henry said.  

“Yeah, we tied,” Hudson added.

Just a few steps behind was Slake Howard, who lost a shoe during the run.

“It was a fun pace, but a sprint at the finish,” he said. “It was for fun, but also to support our programs and activities.”

The PTA funds programs that benefit students, including art and science nights, safety patrol, the “Road to Success” reading program, Veterans Day assembly, buying books for the library and more. 

“It’s important for us to hit our goals so that we can be able to keep all those programs that help benefit the students in different ways,” said Ulrich, who said when the school reached donation milestones, they’d receive incentives such as water bottle stickers and extra recesses.

Families also could support the fundraiser through a silent auction. Local businesses chipped in by donating auction items or contributing to help buy T-shirts for every student, she said.

More than 30 volunteers helped make the week-long effort possible. 

“We’re grateful for all the volunteers who came out to help make this a success,” Ulrich said.