The Walk-It Like You Rocket event, which consists of a fun run at 8:30am and a 5k at 9:00am, will be held on October 18th with all proceeds going to the Class of 2026.
For the past two years, this fundraiser has brought in a lot of money for the senior class events. The fundraiser, which costs $15 for the fun run and $30 for the 5k, is supposed to raise money for senior class events like prom, senior sunrise, and busses for elementary school visits.
The fundraiser is an event for all ages to bring the community together. The Fun Run brings in the younger kids,10 and under, while the 5k walk/run is aimed for those 10 and up. The winner of the 5k receives a gift basket full of gift cards, donated by stores and restaurants around town.
It was started as a fundraiser for the senior class. Ms. Manos, the senior class advisor, said that the fundraiser is “a good opportunity to get people outside and find a good way to raise money that also involves being active and something for the whole town [to get involved in]”.
Finances
While it has been successful in the past, currently, the fundraiser is not doing as well as expected and they hope to gain awareness for the event. “Less than 20 people signed up for this year,” said Ms. Manos, but “we anticipate more people signing up because we’ve just sent it to the elementary schools.”
This number is predicted to be lower from last year because of many reasons. This event last year was held on a Sunday morning, compared to this year where it is on a Saturday morning.
One of the class of 2026 students, Kendall Graves, said, “because I have practice” as the reason why she is unable to participate and/or volunteer at the event. This is a common theme among many fall student athletes as to why they can not attend. This is not just an interference for high school athletes, but also younger athletes along with their parents.
Another reason the financial outcome is not predicted to be as beneficial as it could be is because some people would rather not run a 5k. Luke Rogerson (’26) said, “I just don’t really want to run or walk.” and Will Chute (’26) stated, “No one wants to walk a bunch of miles.”
Ms. Manos said, “It costs almost $1,000 to get the race [officials] to conduct the race. And we have about, almost $400 raised. Breaking even is extremely important for this event because the last thing the class wants is to lose money.”
However, Jason Walsh, class of 2026 president, stated, “We definitely are going to have to fundraise more, but our class is in a really good spot financially right now, it might not be the best fundraiser. It’s definitely a great opportunity for us.”
Awareness and Suggestions
The Walk-It Like You Rocket fundraiser has been well advertised. A common location it is shown is within posters, through teachers, and the morning announcements. Ellie Russo (’26) said, “I saw it in the school hallways and on the morning announcements.”
Although many people have heard about it, there are still some students who are unaware of the event. This is leading to a lack of participation. Chute said he would not participate “because [he doesn’t] know what it is or anything about it.”
Guidance counselors and teachers are encouraging sign ups and awareness. Bobby Morris (’26) said he heard about it from his guidance counselor. Yes, the Walk-It Like You Rocket fundraiser is well advertised but there is still more for the senior class to do.
The Senior class still has funding to be attended to. The seniors will have more fundraisers in the future to meet the financial needs, so there is no reason to worry if this current fundraiser does not do as expected. The class office has come up with many prospective ideas.
Walsh explained, “The homecoming dance [which is] on the same day, is also a fundraiser for our class since anyone in the school who buys tickets contributes a lot of their ticket to our class. We also probably will do some basic fundraising in the winter. We’ve talked about doing candygrams, kind of like Mean Girls. And other fundraising throughout the year, before we get to senior week and prom when we really have to use a lot of our money.”
Students of the 2026 class also have suggestions for new fundraisers that they think will be more beneficial to our class. One of which is a, “Chili’s fundraiser or a Chipotle [fundraiser], because a lot of the sports teams go there, so it will make a lot of money because they are popular places,” Graves suggested.
The class of 2026 is working towards bringing the community together with fun and engaging fundraisers, while still working towards their goal of raising enough money.
Why be involved?
This fundraiser can be extremely beneficial if people show up to donate or volunteer. Runners and volunteers are both needed and encouraged. Being involved will not only help the senior class financially, but it will be a good way to engage with the Reading community and get some fresh air.
Ms. Manos said, “[It is] a good opportunity to get people outside and find a good way to raise money that also involves being active and something for the whole town.” Participating in the Walk-it Like You Rocket fundraiser is an easy way to exercise while doing a good deed. It also will be a fun social event to start your day off right.
Even if you are not able to run, “just spreading awareness and showing up is the best way. We have posters, we post all of the information everywhere, but we really need people to show up and participate and get their families and friends and neighbors to participate as well, especially with this run.” said Walsh.
“We have some class officers volunteering, but we’re always looking for more, and we’ve reached out to NHS members and just the senior class in general to have volunteers, but we’d love to have more people join.” said Walsh. If you are a student at RMHS, or want to help the class of 2026, you are welcomed and encouraged to volunteer. This will help the fundraiser even while not running and/or donating. It will also help the fundraiser to go as smoothly as possible for those that are participating.
“This has been a tradition for two years now to do this as a fundraiser at the beginning of the year, just to get the school community together and help raise funds for the senior class, especially with so many upcoming events that can be very expensive,” said Walsh.
