VIRGINIA BEACH -- Being heart healthy is something that's important no matter what your age. That's why the students and faculty of Three Oaks Elementary School in Virginia Beach are jumping rope. It's a fundraiser called Jump Rope for Heart and it benefits the American Heart Association.
Dana Else with the Heart Association says the mission of this event is to change the future of heart disease.
"The number two cause of death for children is heart disease," she said. "If we can get them learning how to make healthy lifestyle choices we're going to change the epidemic of childhood obesity."
Any school can take part in the event, but the physical education teacher at Three Oaks, Tom Warren, says the reason behind the school's participation is personal/.
"It's amazing when we have our kick off how many kids go my grandfather had a heart attack or my aunt or my uncle. We have what we call our heart hero team, where we have 12 students actually who've had some form of heart disease," he explained.
The money is still coming in, but so far, the school has raise $7,000 for the American Heart Association.
The hope is that all the students who participated will gain an awareness of how important it is to incorporate healthy habits, like jumping rope, into their lives.
