The sun was shining and the temperature was perfect for a day outdoors as 500 students, faculty, parents, grandparents, siblings and friends gathered at Nomahegan Park for the fifth annual JEC lower school Walkathon and Family Fun Day.

“It was a day full of achdut and joy,” enthused Tara Speyer, PTA president, whose brainchild has increasingly grown both in attendance and scope over the years.

This year’s event featured all new rides, a stilt-walker, games, bouncy-castle attractions, BBQ, ices and other treats— and of course the walkathon itself, which yielded donations from across the community for PTA programming in the lower school division.

It was a sea of blue as students converged at the starting line to begin the walkathon and while some children ran the course in an effort to beat their own records from previous years, some families walked together, many pushing strollers and all smiling.

The JEC lower school PTA is entirely lay driven and in a communication to volunteers following the event, Speyer wrote, “What an amazing day!! Your incredible dedication, hard work, talent and enthusiasm, as well as your generosity and genuine love of our JEC family is the reason that the fifth annual Walkathon was such a success! We really make a great team! You all have so many talents and I truly feel privileged to have the opportunity to be a part of this group. Thank you all so much for creating a day so full of achdut and joy for our JEC family.”