FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM APRIL 25, 2019 • KIDS & EDUCATION • THE QUEENS COURIER 33
kids & education
Whitestone teacher dyes hair blue after kids raise more than $10K
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Danielle Hnath, a Whitestone educator,
loves dreaming up creative ways to challenge
her students.
A physical education teacher at P.S. 193
Alfred J. Kennedy School in Whitestone,
she is dedicated to helping more than
500 students adopt a healthy lifestyle that
includes getting plenty of exercise, learning
about nutrition and helping others.
Earlier this year, Hnath teamed up with
the American Heart Association’s Kids
Heart Challenge, a new program designed
to teach students about their heart while
helping others and raising money. She challenged
her students to raise $8,000 to help
fund research for kids with special hearts.
As an incentive to motivate the students,
she promised to dye her hair blue if they
met the fundraising goal. Aft er months of
following the Kids Heart Challenge curriculum
and spreading awareness, her
students eventually exceeded the original
goal.
In total, the school raised more than
$10,000. On Feb. 4, Hnath showed up to
school with blue hair.
“I knew I had to do something big to
make the students excited,” said Hnath.
“I wanted to make it fun for them, something
to help motivate them.”
To help the kids connect with the mission,
Hnath also shared the story of a
Virginia toddler named Finn Blumenthal,
who underwent multiple open-heart surgeries
before age 2. Learning of Finn’s
story motivated second grader Addison
Boshnack-Roth, 8, to take the challenge.
Soon she became the school’s top fundraiser.
Addison Boshnack-Roth
“Ms. Hnath promising to dye her hair
blue sounded like fun,” said Boshnack-
Roth. “But when I saw pictures of Finn
Blumenthal, our heart hero, and read his
story, I wanted to raise more to help him.
When I saw how much money I raised in
just one day, I pushed myself to raise even
more money.”
For being the school’s top fundraiser,
Finn and his mom sent Boshnack-Roth
a video message thanking her for being a
heart hero.
“I didn’t understand that
though,” Boshnack-Roth recalls. “My parents
explained that I had become a heart
hero too because I was part of helping all
of those hearts.”
Th e recognition did not stop there. On
March 25, Boshnack-Roth received a trophy
from her school’s Parent Teacher
Association for “having a big heart.”
“I was surprised. I didn’t expect a trophy,”
said Boshnack-Roth. “I was excited
to hear I raised the most money, because I
really wanted to do a good job. I was also
excited to get a jump rope, which I won
for raising money and earning hearts.
Getting a trophy felt really good because
everybody saw, and maybe that will get
the kids excited to raise even more money
next year!”
Boshnack-Roth and Hnath plan on raising
even more money to fund research
next year. In the meantime, Hnath will
think of more fun and heartfelt ways to
motivate her students.
“I’m dreaming up the next challenge
Photo courtesy of Danielle Hnath
for 2020,” said Hnath. “Th e most important
lesson for my students is that it’s
important to give back and to avoid the
unhealthy choices in life. What they do
can aff ect their life and body.”
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