Discover the Difference an
Oak Hill Academy Education Makes
VIRTUAL OPEN HOUSE
Friday, May 14, 2021
at 9:00 am
• Experience a pictorial tour
• Hear from school leaders
• Question and answer session
• Pre-registration required on school website
14 APRIL 2021 | TheJournalNJ.com
Grades PreK – 8
347 Middletown · Lincroft Road · Lincroft, NJ 07738
732.530.1343 · www.oakhillacademy.com
Limited Openings for September 2021
Local Sisters Organize 5K to Raise Funds for
WAVES OF EDUCATION
BY LAUREN LAVELLE
As the weather shifts from gray and frigid to warm and bright, many
walks we all seem to know so well. But instead of taking a simple
stroll around the block, what if you could raise the stakes and make a fun
competition out of it while helping children in need? Thanks to sisters
Kristina Rems, of Red Bank, and Alexandra Cruz, founders of Waves of Ed-
in Uganda, that just might be a possibility.
Through Wednesday, April 28, people will have the opportunity to
-
tion and help the sisters get even closer to their goal of building a seven
room primary school in Uganda.
“We’re still in a virtual world, so we wanted to make sure we were
cognizant of social distancing and to give everyone a chance to participate,”
said Cruz, a pharmacist from Jersey City. “The nice thing about it is
that you choose when you want to do it. You can do it outside; you can do
it on a treadmill; you can do it with a few friends; you can do it alone; you
can do it with your pet. There are a lot of options that are available, and
it's very tailored to you and how you want to do it.”
After signing up, participants receive a T-shirt and then upload a
photo or video of themselves completing their walk or run and their
times. The fastest team and individual racer receive prizes. Options for
people who don’t want to participate in the event but still want to support
the cause are also available.
The run holds special meaning for the sisters because of its similarity
to a typical walk to and from school for children in Uganda.
“We did the standard 5K, but we also have a mile walk in there
because, usually, children in Uganda have to walk at least a mile to and
from school,” said Rems. “We don’t think about it, but having to walk
that far to and from school shows how important education is to the
people there and also how willing they are to go the mile or two to get
there. We did the mile option to make it more relatable and for people
to be able to experience what people go through on a daily basis to try
to get to school.”
For those looking to get even more involved with Waves of Education,
Cruz encouraged participants to keep up with her and Rems on
social media as they travel to Uganda to scout for locations for their
primary school. After COVID-19 postponed their trip twice, the sisters
at their progress.
“We will be kicking off live from Uganda if technology cooperates
properly,” Cruz said. “We’ll be broadcasting all of our progress on social
media so people can get a glimpse into our trip, into what we’re seeing,
and just get a sense of how this project is starting and the whole process
behind it.”
Rems added, “We haven’t even picked a location yet, so it's kind
of like they’re going on the journey with us. We’re really hoping that people
will follow us on social media and will be able to go through everything
with us.”
The sisters hope the virtual 5K and the opportunity for a personal
look into their Uganda trip will help them reach their overall project goal.
“Our total goal for our project is about $150,000. Right now, we’re
Cruz said. “But I think we’ve had a better response than we were anticipating,
so we're hoping with this fundraising 5K event we’ll be able to add to
that a bit and take us a little bit further than where we are today.”
Team and individual sign up information can be found at RunSignUp.
com/RunTowardABetterFuture. You can follow Rems and Cruz’s journey
on Facebook and Instagram.
/TheJournalNJ.com
/www.oakhillacademy.com