MES Welcomed UCONN Students For JonaTHON Assembly

Mitchell Elementary School’s annual PJ Day for the Kids got a new twist this year in the form of a school-wide “JonATHON Assembly” and Dance Party on December 13.

Four students from UCONN’s HuskyTHON spoke to the MES community about the annual event where students at UCONN host dance-a-thons to raise money for children battling illness at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. HuskyTHON filters out of UCONN through the JonaTHONs program and into Connecticut K-12 schools, where they engage with students in their fundraising dance-a-thons.

“As you are dancing and having fun today, remember that you are making a big impact,” said JonATHON member senior student Callie Lacey. “You’re not just having a good time; you’re part of something that is helping families in need. You are showing them that there are people out there that care about them."

“You are showing the world that even young people can make a difference,” added JonATHON member Shealyn Tirendi.

Region 14 has hosted the annual PJ Day for the Kids to benefit Connecticut Children’s Medical Center for the last three years and raised thousands of dollars by students and staff donating at least one dollar to wear their PJs to school for the day. But connecting it to the UCONN HuskyTHON was a new idea for this year at MES.

MES Principal Kelly Pinho said a PTO member whose daughter is a student at UCONN brought the idea to connect HuskyTHON to Mitchell’s PJ Day for the Kids. Pinho had been part of the HuskyTHON while at UCONN and knew the students at MES would love it.

“As a UCONN alum, I loved that I could be part of this UCONN tradition and help them raise money for CT Children's Hospital,” Pinho said. “The four students who came here were amazing, and our students loved having them here to dance with us.  It was an amazing time.”