Douglas County’s Public Education Trust has devised a way to raise funds to benefit students and teachers while promoting a fun, healthy lifestyle in the process.

The first Teacher’s PET Fitness Fun Run will be held Aug. 25 beginning at 8 a.m. at New Manchester High School, according to Don Remillard, retired school superintendent and newly-elected chairman of the Douglas County Public Education Trust, a nonprofit whose sole purpose is the benefit of students and teachers.

The event will feature heats for different age groups and genders from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. The fee is $15 and includes a T-shirt, Remillard said.

Medals will be awarded to the top 10 finishers in each age-level heat, along with participation awards for the top three schools bringing in the most runners.

Because of community support and sponsorships, every penny raised will go into mini-grants and the Teacher of the Year award, Remillard added.

Retired Chapel Hill High School teacher and coach Sherri Hintz has been pulled in to help bring the event together.

An avid competitive runner, she “has been a world of help, giving her time and energy for this,” Remillard said.

“The thing I like about this is that it supports the wellness of our children,” he said. “Our First Lady is promoting healthy children, and we wanted to partner with that.”

Funds raised from the event will help the Trust increase mini-grants to teachers who would like to offer innovative activities and programs in the classroom.

Last year, the Trust awarded $11,000 in mini-grants to teachers. The board hopes that by raising additional funds, they will be able to increase funding to more teachers.

“We had a number of good, creative grants,” he said, “but we didn’t have the money to fund all of them. Our goal is to increase this significantly, because it is the students who benefit.”

The Trust is also a major supporter of the school system’s Teacher of the Year program and helps individuals and businesses set up scholarship programs for students.

Last year, it awarded $8,800 in scholarships.

The Public Education Trust was established in 1993 by the Georgia General Assembly to create a non-profit organization for the Douglas County School System to support education in the schools.

To register for the Teacher’s PET Fitness Fun Run, become a sponsor or make a donation, visit www.douglaspubliceducationtrust.org.

Registration forms are also available at all Douglas County elementary schools.