On Friday, Sept. 20, kids in both 7th and 8th grade gathered on the football field of Hopewell Junior School (HJS) covered head to toe in a rainbow of different neon colors. Students who chose to participate paid an entry fee of 25 dollars and could either walk or run a mile through “Color Powder Zones” which consisted of staff tossing colored powder on the students as they passed by. HJS hosts the color run annually with participation of around 150- 200 students.

After the “run” the students are on the football field where they enjoyed snow cones and played games with their friends. The middle schoolers laughed and smiled as they ran around the field, squirted water on each other, and played nine-square. The kids who had additional donations were able to compete in games with the staff. Participants and staff tossed colors behind their heads in order to fill a bucket and to beat the other groups beside them. Students could also donate to earn raffle tickets. The color run gave out 28 raffle prizes including items and tickets from many local businesses such as Kings Island, AMC, Top Golf, Main Event, In the Game, Cincinnati Zoo, local restaurants, and more.

Businesses could sponsor the event through buying different types of sponsor packages ranging from the diamond package (the most deluxe a business could have purchased) to the bronze package. Different types of packages have different benefits. If a business purchased the diamond package, their business’s name would have been placed in a myriad of different places (including on newsletters, t-shirts, and on a plaque). If they purchased the bronze package, the business would have had its name on the Color Run branding.

The money raised from the HJS color run goes straight to the HJS Parent Teacher Student Organization (PTSO). The PTSO uses the money year round. According to the PTSO president, Jennifer Kidd, the color run helps finance almost all of their projects for the year.

“This funds probably 80-90% of our entire budget for the year,” Kidd told Spark. “We know that our budget for this year is around $16,000 and this makes up for about $12,000 of it”.

The PTSO is responsible for providing certain events and rewards for students such as star students, student of the month, success breakfasts, and quarterly rewards. It has also helped fund projects around the building, according to the HJS principal, Jeff Rouff.

“The Color Run has supported beautification projects around the building such as a series of TV’s put up around the school,” said Rouff. “New signage for around the building, window clings and so much more.”

The color run was founded by two mothers on the PTSO board a few years before the COVID-19 pandemic. Once COVID had put the world into a lockdown, HJS had to take a one year hiatus from the color run. However, once it had started back up, it was just as strong as it was before, said Rouff.

Teachers and staff get just as messy as the students do during the color run. The staff of HJS went around giggling while tossing color powder at both students and each other. The color run was a great opportunity for teachers to get to know and bond with students that are not in their own classes. According to HJS teacher, Matthew Dollard, teachers enjoy the color run just as much as students do.

“It’s been awesome, everybody has a lot of fun,” said Dollard. “The teachers have a lot of fun getting involved.”

The color run does not consist of only staff and students. Parents and community members also enjoy coming to help support the fundraiser. Rouff takes great pride in the color run and appreciates how it helps build up our community.

“It has been a great event combining fundraising for our PTSO and building community with our students and staff,” said Rouff.

HJS hosts the color run annually; any middle schooler who pays the entry fee is allowed to participate.