More than 200 Norwood School students, parents, teachers and staff members walked the grounds of the school’s Potomac campus earlier this month to raise money for schools devastated by Hurricane Sandy in New York City.

“The Norwood community raised and will donate $4,000 to help Literacy Lifeboats purchase books, rugs, easels and bookcases to reconstruct literacy-rich classrooms,” said Leanne Gill, spokeswoman for the Norwood School.

Norwood Walks 2012 was part of the Literacy Lifeboats Initiative, which was started by Columbia University’s Teachers College Reading and Writing Project to help New York City’s K-8 schools after Hurricane Sandy.

“The walkathon gave us a chance to have some fun together as families and as a community, but also to dedicate that to a worthy purpose. It was a small thing to do, but we believe these little deeds accumulate in the minds and hearts of our kids and help them learn how to be caring, giving people as they get older, which is right at the heart of our mission at Norwood,” said Leslie Wallace, president of the Norwood Parents Association and
 lead organizer of Norwood Walks 2012.

Michele Claeys,
associate head and middle school principal said, “This was a way that our students could participate in coming to the aid of people far away. Plus, there is something really nice about students and teachers coming together to help other students and teachers.”

Gill said that each time participants completed a lap, they stomped pieces of poster board and signed their names. “At the end of the event, we had six large pieces of poster board covered with little feet,” she said.

Students took pride in helping those in need. “I participated because I wanted to help people affected by the storm and because we would have liked it if another school did this for us,” said sixth grade student Stephanie Hong.

Norwood officials want the walk to become a school tradition. “Norwood Walks 2012 was so successful, we are hoping this becomes an annual event,” said Gill.