The eighth annual Nichols has Heart Walk-a-thon will be held Friday, May 29, starting at Nichols Middle School to raise funds for scholarships, medical research and the school’s PTA.
The Walk-a-thon began in 2007 as a Nichols student council event that partnered students, staff, parents and the community. In 2008 the Walk-a-thon was dedicated to honor Sandy McDermott, a beloved Nichols teacher who died suddenly of a heart attack at school in February of that year – and officially became known as the “Nichols has Heart – A Walk-a-thon in Memory of Sandy McDermott.”
Over the past seven years, the walk-a-thon has raised over $140,000, of which $42,000 has been awarded in college scholarships to Evanston Township High School students who attended Nichols, $35,000 has been donated to great causes like the American Heart Association and Presence Saint Francis Hospital, and $35,000 has been given to the Nichols PTA.
The Nichols has Heart Walk-a-thon will also feature a picnic lunch and carnival games in addition to the walk. Donations are being accepted online.