Aurora school's fundraising program attracts a Bear

A real Bear showed up in Granger Middle School's Grizzly Den Wednesday afternoon. And he came bearing gifts and medals.

Chicago Bears All-Pro middle linebacker Brian Urlacher surprised hundreds of staff and students when he arrived at the school's spring recognition ceremony to congratulate the school winning the "Football for Heart" fundraising effort by raising $8,700 for the American Heart Association. He also distributed medals to eight participants in the April 26 Special Olympics held at North Central College.

"Since day one that I've been able to give back, I've made sure to focus on kids in need and the Special Olympics," Urlacher said. "That is where my heart is, so getting to come out and meet these kids is cool."

"Football for Heart" is a pilot fundraising and education effort sponsored by the association and the Bears. Mary Lou Torrison, youth market director for the association, said Granger was chosen as one of five schools in the nation (all in Chicago and the suburbs) to pilot the program based on her admiration of the school's faculty.

"When we began discussing the program with the Bears, I knew this was a program made for Granger and the staff here," she said. "I love them all."

Physical education teacher Jen Torza stressed the program aims to educate students about the importance of being physically active for at least an hour a day. Staff and students are also asked to raise funds to fight childhood obesity and inactivity, which can lead to heart disease and other problems later in life.

"We really want to get the kids away from the television and get them out playing and being active," Torza said Wednesday. "We want them to learn how to make those healthy choices now instead of their later years."

Earlier this month Granger students have been learning about the importance of physical activity in health class, and have been participating in football skill challenges and flag football tournaments.

"We put 110, no, 1000 percent of everything we had into making this a success once we were selected," Torza said. "So we're really proud of Granger today."

Bears community affairs representative Kate Rackow and her team stopped in to check out the activities as well.

"it was great to see the kids really getting into the program and seeming to grasp why it was important," she said Wednesday.

Initially, Torza said, the fundraising goal was set at $8,000 or $10 per student. But kids hit up their neighbors and teachers, teachers threw in their own contributions and before they knew it, the pot was over $8,700, enough to beat Bloomingdale's Stratford Middle School, which was keeping up with Granger until the last few days.

Granger's top two fundraisers, seventh grader Rehann Schleiter and eighth grader Katie Baker, each collected $520 to help Granger win a visit from a surprise Bear and were each awarded autographed footballs from Urlacher.

Schleiter even had the foresight to wear her Urlacher jersey, hoping it would be him.

"It's so cool that he's here," she said after being recognized and given her football. "I'm proud of us."

Torrison said she will be providing a favorable report on Granger's participation and Urlacher's reception when she meets with the association board this morning.

"This has been awesome, even better than we expected," Torrison said. "It's certainly our hope that Granger has set the bar and helps propel us to making this a nationwide program."