The PHETE club, a group of health and physical education majors at Temple, looks to make a difference on campus by promoting healthy lifestyles through physical fitness.
PHETE (Physical and Health Education Teacher Education) is determined to inform students about fitness and health education. Therefore, it is involved in many different events that help promote health to everyone, whether they are members or not.
“We go on adventure weekends together and teach kids how to do different things,” PHETE President Lisa Imburgia said. “We have taught members how to rock climb and belay each other [fasten each other’s ropes] to keep one another safe.”
PHETE has approximately seven to 10 members that work closely with the American Heart Association to create a fundraiser at Temple called Jump Rope for Heart (JRFH).
Carl Keifer, member of the Pennsylvania State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, Inc. (PSAHPERD) decided to create the fundraiser and bring it to the “university level” after hosting it at various elementary schools for many years.
PHETE is excited to come to Temple, considering the school one of the most popular universities for physical education and health in Pennsylvania.
Since its start in 1924, JRFH has been raising money to support people with and spread awareness about cardiovascular disease and stroke.
“I am very excited to be a part of this,” said Laurie Givnish, PHETE treasurer and physical education major. “I love fitness, and raising money for a good cause makes it more worthwhile. Teaching kids about keeping their heart healthy is very important to me –– and doing it through exercise is rewarding.”
JRFH is an all-day event that goes from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Participants jump rope for as long as they can, raising more money the longer they jump.
During the event, participants complete one hour of single jumps followed by one hour of double dutch. The cycle continues until 4 p.m., when there is an award ceremony for the three best jumpers.
This fundraiser gives everyone who wants to be involved the opportunity to exercise in a fun way, while simultaneously learning how to keep their heart healthy.
“Everyone knows that they should exercise, but it is easy to slip into a type of laziness when the rest of life gets in the way,” Imburgia said. “This type of event will help remind everyone that detrimental things can happen to their body if they do not give it what it needs. We must raise awareness so that these diseases do not appear.”
PHETE’s ultimate goal is to make sure that students stay educated about health during their time at Temple.
“It is important that we relay the information that we are taught,” Givnish said. “Temple does a great job of teaching us here at PHETE, so it is our job to spread this information and never let the learning die. You need heart to be a hero.”
Written by Shayna Yazujian
Photographed by Linh Than
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