On April 13th, 2025, The Village School’s National Honor Society (NHS) held its third annual 5k Fun Run. This riveting event is a charity event that The Village School’s community members look forward to all year long! Each participant will walk/run a 5k and all the funds raised from tickets go towards supporting the Joseph’s Warriors Non-Profit organization, aimed towards raising awareness on childhood cancer, childhood cancer research, and fundraising for families of children with cancer in need of financial assistance. The organization was created in memory of Joseph Patrick Fleming.
Every year, The National Honor Society must hold a society-wide charity event. In past years, the society held wiffle ball and kickball events, which were successful but only had the high school students participating. To have an event the whole community could participate in, Diana Spiers, the advisor of the NHS chapter and teacher at The VillageSchool, brought the idea of a “Fun Run” to the leadership team in 2023. The society raised $1900 for Joseph’s Warriors in 2023, raised $4200 in 2024 and raised $5250 in 2025.
The event was created as a way for Joseph Warriors to commemorate Ms. Spiers’ nephew, Joseph Patrick Fleming. “Our bad days are nothing compared to a bad day with a child suffering from cancer. To know that the funds that we raise will bring a smile or hope to that child and their family says it all,” Ms. Spiers expressed, when asked how she believes the society has made an impact on The Village School community.
“Joseph was diagnosed with liver cancer in late July of 2016 and passed away on October 30, 2016. He was 10 years old, an avid baseball player, and had a great sense of humor. After the loss of such a vibrant 10-year-old, his mother set out to find a way that his short life would forever make an impact. The mothers of his baseball friends joined together and formed a non-profit to support families going through similar difficulties with childhood cancer,” shared Ms. Spiers. Ms. Spiers wanted NHS to do something that all of The Village School community could do – the annual Fun Run was the perfect event! Students, teachers, parents, and community members came together and ran a 5k around the school’s parking lot and turf field. The course was set up by members of NHS and stations including snacks, water, photo-ops, and bubbles were set up to support the runners in their course.
When asked how this year differed from last year’s event, Ms. Spiers explained “Just like teachers try to teach their students, failing forward is how we learn. This year, the NHS added more stations to create some more memorable moments. We had the dance team come out and cheer at the start and finish line. We added the “Viking Tunnel”, color station, bubble station, and photo opportunity station. I feel the path we created this year was better than last.”
In addition to the Fun Run, The Village School’s National Honor Society has held a number of service events and opportunities throughout the year, including volunteering at The Houston Food Bank, working concession stands at a Baseball tournament for fundraising, creating a booth at the annual Fall Festival and more! These service projects are just a small fraction of the work the members and organizers of the National Honor Society do at The Village School.
