CHINA GROVE — Millbridge Elementary students got a chance to put some personal stock into their school when they ran in a fun-run fundraising event on Friday.

“It’s good for them to work for it,” said Rachel Twyman, whose son Kyrie is in the fifth grade and was participating in the event. “They have to work hard for everything, even if it comes to fundraising.”

The event involved each grade level completing laps around a paved area outside Millbridge. The students received a check mark on a specially designed shirt with each lap. Twyman remarked that Kyrie planned to go the distance.

“He pledged to complete it,” Twyman said. “He is going to run as many as he can. You can trust and believe that. He’s not going to stop until they make him.”

Twyman indicated that they sourced sponsorships from friends and family.

Thanks to families like Twyman’s, the school surpassed its initial goal of $25,000.

Principal Lyndsey Pelusi estimated that the drive was on pace to raise $35,000, which will go toward the school’s PTA programs and general efforts to support teachers and students in the classroom.

“One thing the PTA does is provide supplies for our teachers beyond what the state gives us,” Pelusi said. “They will purchase supplies for classrooms. Every class teacher has a printer in their room, so they will buy ink for that printer, which is not cheap. They will cater lunch for the teachers about once a month, which is really nice. They come in and volunteer to watch the kids in the cafeteria so the teachers can have a little break.”

There are some big-ticket items like new picnic tables the school can afford so students can have lunch outside when the weather is nice, as well as some technology for the classroom.

“We’re also going to be purchasing some new technology, touch panel Promethean boards for the classroom that are more interactive,” Pelusi said. “They are extremely expensive, several thousand dollars for one, so we are going to use some of this to buy those boards for the classrooms.”