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Solidarity Run: Beginners Learn Volunteerism, Community, and Math

“Do you celebrate anniversaries? Is ten years a lot or a little?” – asked a teacher to the preschoolers at the “Erudito” lyceum yard in Vilnius, where in the last sunny days of September, preschool and first-grade students gathered. They joined the social initiative of the “Gebėkit vaikus” organization – the 10th Solidarity Run – as runners. On October 6th, 2nd to 4th-grade students from the “Erudito” licėjus also joined this noble goal.

Running meters turn into support

The children unanimously agreed that the tenth anniversary is a special occasion that must be celebrated, so they joined thousands of students from across the country who want to help children in need. On October 6th, 2nd to 4th-grade students from the “Erudito” licėjus joined the anniversary run in Reformatų Park in the capital city.

They will strive to collect support for those who need it the most for every meter they run. Children wrote down their supporters on cards, who will donate a set amount for each solidarity meter they run. The funds collected, along with the donation box made by the children themselves, will be handed over to the “Gelbėkit vaikus” organization, which distributes the funds where they are needed most.

“We have been participating in this solidarity initiative for several years now, so the children are already looking forward to this run, preparing for it, actively seeking supporters, and then counting the kilometers they have run, which turn into support,” says Jūratė Babickienė, a primary school teacher who has gathered even more children willing to participate in the run this year. “We have set very clear goals and discussed them with the students: why we run, sacrificing our health, time, energy, and thoughts for a good cause and a social goal.”

Helps reinforce IB PYP competencies

According to teacher J. Babickienė, this run is not only an opportunity to be outdoors and exercise, i.e., strengthen the body but also to reinforce important values and competencies of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IB PYP), such as empathy, understanding, thinking, and more.

“We learn to be members of a community – we understand who we are (which is one of the six interdisciplinary themes of IB PYP), we all stick ‘Gelbėkit vaikus’ stickers together and become part of a community. By pursuing a common goal – running together, achieving a noble goal – we become stronger and more united as a community, because one soldier is not an army. Even the slogan of this run is ‘Together We Can Do More,'” says primary school teacher J. Babickienė.

“This initiative also teaches sharing. If I am healthy, strong, and can think, I can help others think the same way,” says J. Babickienė, the initiator of the run at the school.

Even math knowledge is integrated into this run for beginners: “We count steps, which turn into meters, and the distance run, the funds raised by supporters.”

Teachers are delighted that parents of the students enthusiastically joined this solidarity initiative; some companies also want to donate to the “Gelbėkit vaikus” organization.

We remind you that the “Erudito” licėjus is among the schools that are candidates to implement the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IB PYP) for primary classes. Link to more information about the IB PYP program:

The International Baccalaureate Program – soon for Primary school students too