Red Square was filled with dozens of preschool students from George School Children’s’ Center (GSCC) on Thursday, April 15, 2010 as they hopped, skipped, and jumped to raise money for children stricken with muscular dystrophy, participating in the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s Hop-a-Thon Program.

In addition to a fund-raiser, the Hop-a-Thon Program is an educational special event that includes a week-long disability awareness lesson plan, hands-on activities for the children with books and a video, and other free educational materials.

“It’s a great way to show healthy children how lucky they are,” explained GSCC interim director Connie Gleeson ’78. “They learn about muscles, they learn numbers because they are counting, they see videos of children with muscular dystrophy, and they learn not to be afraid of it. A lot of kids will make fun of kids who don’t look like them, but with this curriculum, they see that it’s OK to be different.”