FULLERTON : Jumping at Chance to Aid Heart Research

Chanting “Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, touch the ground,” Raymond Paik took turns jumping rope at Laguna Road Elementary School last week as part of the American Heart Assn.’s “Jump Rope for Heart” campaign.

“Jumping makes you healthy,” the 6-year-old said, after completing a few minutes of jumping tricks. “It’s good for your heart.”

Raymond and hundreds of students at schools throughout the county are jumping in the campaign, designed to teach children the value of exercise and to raise money for the heart association.

Laguna Road Elementary has been the top fund-raiser for the past two years, raising $11,100 in 1994 and $9,000 in 1993, American Heart Assn. spokeswoman Barbara Broughton said.

Students solicit sponsors, who give them money to donate to the association. Participating schools on average raise between $1,000 and $3,000, she said.

The money goes toward research and education programs, Broughton said.

And the children who jump learn a valuable lesson, said Chris Heusser, a physical education teacher at Laguna Road Elementary.

“Some of you are really sweating. That’s what happens when you work your heart,” Heusser told her jumping pupils. “When you work your heart like this, what’s happening? Is it getting weaker or stronger?”

The children responded with a booming: “Stronger!”