Jason Clayton was watching his kids, third-grader Peter and fifth-grader Emaline, and their cousin, scale the climbing wall set up on Draper Elementary’s field. His three-year-old Teddy was asleep on his shoulder.

“We love this; it’s been a lot of fun,” he said about the evening event that included several large inflatables. “This is a great event for the kids and it’s a good way to raise money for the school. It brings a lot of people together.”

Fifth-grader Sophia Tatton also liked the rock-climbing wall.

“It’s fun,” she said, adding that she was curious about her family’s bid on the online silent auction, which was part of the fundraiser that also included donations from the annual Dragon Dash as well as a percentage of the sales at the food trucks that evening.

The dark skies and raindrops didn’t dampen the families’ spirits as they surpassed $25,000, which they earned last year, raising $27,778 this year, said PTA president Crystal Tatton.

That didn’t include the 428 wristbands for the carnival activities, which goes toward having three inflatables for field day at the end of the year.

“We’re able to fund our field day and all the kids get to go do that,” she said. “We don’t take any profits from the tickets.”

This year the Dragon Dash was returned to being held during school hours from evening time.

“We like that the Dragon Dash during the day involves all the kids at the school and that the evening allows the families to get together and have fun as a community,” she said.

During the Dragon Dash, about 700 students, divided by grade, completed laps on a track around the school fields for 10 minutes.

“They ran, they walked, they skipped, some kids walk backward, but they were moving,” she said, adding that one student in a wheelchair cheered on her peers along with parents and other family members. “We like that the kids don’t have to sell anything, but it’s a way the kids can do something for the money—and our parents like that.”

As a result, every student received a school T-shirt and will be given a free book during literacy week. They also get to participate on field trips and in Meet the Master’s and Book Blitz Jr. programs and other activities like Reflections, Grandparents’ Lunch, ribbon weeks and family nights that are supported by the fundraiser.

The silent auction had several family and kid-friendly items such as being custodian for the day and lunch with the principal and secretary to ballet and theater tickets.

“I love seeing the kids enjoy this day, running, playing here tonight, eating together, seeing all the things they want to bid on. They love this; they just get so excited,” Tatton said.

About 20 volunteers helped with the day and evening events. “We can’t live without our volunteers. They’re huge and the faculty, just the support from the school, I love that,” she said.

Principal Ronnie Mulqueen said that she appreciates the support for the event.

“It’s so neat for all the kids and the parents,” she said. “It’s been a busy and really fun day with lots of activities and the community coming together.”

Mulqueen gave students high-fives and cheered the students on during the run before helping with the evening activities.

“We had quite a few parents who came to watch and run with the kids, and then, this event tonight is amazing. We have so many families involved here,” she said. “It’s been very organized; our PTA did a fantastic job of coordinating it. We have a very supportive, very involved PTA and school community council.”

In the playing field, Jelissa Tucker was keeping track of the five kids she brought to climb on the inflatables.

“These kids want to do everything. Today, they ran all 10 minutes, and they said it was exhausting. Now, they’re running around here this evening, getting their energy out,” she said. “I bet they’re going to sleep well tonight.” λ