EDMOND — History was made as Edmond North High School BALTO Week 2016 announced it had raised a grand total of $708,748! Of that total, $354,374 was a match provided by the “Fields & Futures Match Team,” representing 20-plus donors. Proceeds will be donated to Fields & Futures to construct new athletic fields at Roosevelt Middle School in south Oklahoma City.
The total announced during Friday’s student assembly is a record for BALTO Week.
Says Fields & Futures founder Tim McLaughlin, “What these kids do is amazing. We are blown away by how hard they worked to bring their BALTO magic to the students at Roosevelt Middle School. As Felix Linden, teacher at Roosevelt MS stated, ‘You can’t leave a legacy until you live one.’ The students at Edmond North High School are living their legacy in a big way! We can’t wait for everyone to see the long-term impact this will create for the Roosevelt community.”
A special thank you to this year’s BALTO co-chairs Cameron Cato, Katie Cheap and Emily Humphreys. who led the charge to make Fields & Futures their 2016 recipient. It was a path less traveled, and they blazed it. They went against the norm and it has paid off big. They had the heart and patience to visualize the number of enrolled students, neighborhood children, families, and youth leagues who would play on the fields at Roosevelt MS over the next 20+ years. Together with their fellow student council members, they made an investment in the long game. Bravo, BALTO!
2016 BALTO Week was legendary. The students of Edmond North don’t know this, but their relationship with Roosevelt MS is not ending today — it is just beginning.
Photos by Paul Hellstern/The Oklahoman and Liz Cromwell.