Martyr Marathon - St. Stephen the Martyr Catholic School

22nd Annual Martyr Marathon

Friday, September 18th at 9:15 - 11:45 AM

Martyr Marathon is our school’s largest fundraiser of the year, where students walk the marathon route to raise money for our school. A successful Martyr Marathon replaces the need to do any other fundraising throughout the year for the school! To participate, students are encouraged to collect pledges from family, friends, or neighbors. Donors make a flat donation to support our school, helping us reach our fundraising goals.

Event Overview

Where does the money that is raised go?
Funds collected from this year’s Martyr Marathon event will help underwrite teacher grants throughout the year, support program implementation including our new CKLA Literacy Program, maintain the School Family App, offset costs of the School Musical, and underwrite the cost of professional development for our teachers. Additional funds raised will be used for new student desks/seating, security upgrades and technology subscriptions. Your support is an integral part of our success.

How do students collect pledges and raise money?
We’re using PledgeStar again, our convenient online fundraising tool that simplifies requesting pledges and securing donations from friends and family near and far. Please refer to the instructions below (Under “Register Now”) to register and start fundraising today!

When does the walk/event begin and what does it entail?
Grade-level Rock the Walk Activities will take place throughout the week, starting Monday, September 14th, leading up to the main event on Friday, September 18, 2026. The walk for students in grades K through 8 will begin following all-school Mass (approximately 9:15 AM) and continue until 11:45 AM.

Early Childhood Dance Parties
Transitional Kindergarten (TK) will have their dance party on September 23rd. Preschool, and PreK classes will have their dance party on September 17th. Stay tuned for more details!

We use an awesome web-based fundraising system that makes it SUPER EASY for you to request pledges from your family and friends, and for them to make secure credit card donations online. It’s fun, it’s quick, and people who use it typically raise twice as much as those who don’t! Fundraising begins Friday, August 28th, and will continue until the date of the Martyr Marathon on Friday, September 18th.

Parents, please help us reach our all-school goal of $100,000 and REGISTER NOW by following the steps below. You will register as a family. Families with multiple students will have their totals split among their children.

Remember, Martyr Marathon is September 19th, so please REGISTER NOW to help our school raise as much as we can for the continuation of security, technology, and operational upgrades.

Go to http://pledgestar.com/Martyr
Click on “Not Registered For This Year’s Event”
Enter your name and email address (of the parent/guardian), then click “Register”
Follow the on-screen instructions to verify your email address, add your student walker(s), and enter family and friends to receive pledge/donation requests.

Once your PledgeStar registration is complete, the system will email or text pledge/donation requests to family and friends which allows them to make secure credit card donations online, or they can use the pay by check option and they will receive instructions by email or text from PledgeStar. You can add additional family and friends on a later date as well.

Other exciting features: you can share your fundraising page via social media, you will get notified each time a pledge/donation is made, you can track your fundraising progress online, and a thank you note from your child will automatically be sent to those who donate online.

We encourage each family to set up a fundraising page! However, if you simply want to send checks to the school as it has been done in the past, we will accept them. Make checks out to “SSM Home and School” and send them to St. Stephen the Martyr Catholic School (16701 S Street, Omaha NE 68135) in an envelope marked “Martyr Marathon” with the child’s name in the check memo no later than September 19th, 2025. If you need receipts to give your donors collected outside of PledgeStar, please email us at ssmhomeandschool@gmail.com.

Prizes, Prizes & More Prizes!

All-School Goal
Our All-School Goal for 2026 is $100,000, and we believe we can achieve it with your support! If we reach this target, all students will receive a special goal bag filled with gift cards, coupons, and other fun items AND we will also earn a day off from school on October 26th!

Family Goal Prizes

Each family is asked to raise $125 to help us reach our goal. Meeting this family goal earns you an SSM Car Decal. But don’t stop there! We have three additional prize tiers and an exclusive offer (see below):

Family Tier ($150): SSM Magnetic Car Decal
Tier One ($300): SSM SSM Cable Knit Beanie
Tier Two ($500): SSM Cork Wireless Charging Pad Desktop Organizer
Tier Three ($800): SSM 24 Can Backpack Cooler

Social Media and Blitz Prizes

Exciting daily prizes await! Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/SSMHomeAndSchool and Instagram: @SSMHomeandSchool to participate. Leading up to the event, we’ll post fun questions and prize giveaways. Don’t miss out, like/follow our pages and join the fun!

Grade Level Parties

Students will compete by grade level for a chance to win a rocking parties! Grades will be competing against each other to see who can raise the most and score one of these parties!
Gold, Silver and Bronze honors will be awarded to each grade based on who raises the most money; the Gold-winning class (top fundraiser) in each grade will receive a class party.

For families with multiple students, donations will be divided evenly among each child’s grade level for prize consideration.

Top Earning Students for Each Grade
The student in each grade level who collects the most donors (through PledgeStar or checks) will earn the chance to challenge a teacher in a Rock n’ Roll –themed competition at the post-event assembly!

Martyr Marathon Week: Rock the Walk

This year we’re going to Rock the Walk! Throughout the week, students will participate in exciting activities and friendly challenges leading up to Martyr Marathon. Each day brings a new fun activity encouraging students to have fun, work together, help our community and show school spirit.

Monday 9/14: Rock the Request

Want to hear your favorite song at Rock the Walk? Stop by the entryway Monday and add your song suggestion to the DJ Request Bucket! Write your request on a slip of paper and drop it in. We will not be taking song requests the day of the event, so get your picks in early and help us build a playlist that ROCKS!

Tuesday 9/15 – Hit me with your best guess!

Each class will work together to answer 10 music trivia questions. Write down your final answers and turn them in to the office when you’re finished. NO Googling, Alexa, Siri, or other outside help. Just put your heads together and see how much your class knows! The winning K–2 , 3 –5 , and 6 -8 class will earn a FREE DRESS DAY!

Wednesday 9/16 – Jam for the Pantry!

Turn up the giving! Bring a nonperishable food item to school on Wednesday and help us fill the pantry. Please send only nonperishable items and no glass containers. Every donation helps us make some noise for a great cause!

Thursday 9/17: Tattoo the Teacher!

It’s time to give your teacher a brand new look! During the first 20 minutes of class, students can purchase a temporary tattoo for a participating teacher and choose where it goes: arms, legs, or neck. The best part? Teachers have to rock their new tattoos all day long!

Small Tattoo: $1
Medium Tattoo: $5
Large Tattoo: $10

Employer Matching

Want to make a bigger impact? Does your employer have a Matching Gift policy? It’s a great way to make your donation go even further. Please reach out to ssmhomeandschool@gmail.com for a letter on behalf of St. Stephen the Martyr Catholic School along with the IRS 501© (3) letter to submit to your company if they have not previously matched. Companies that have matched in the past include Union Pacific, First Data, 3M, Mutual of Omaha, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Raytheon, and more.

Permission Slips

Please ensure that your child’s permission slip is submitted to the school office by September 14th! Without a permission slip on file, your child will not be able to participate in the walk. If you need an additional copy please download it here.

How can you help?

We need enthusiastic volunteers like you to ensure our 22nd Annual Martyr Marathon is a great success! There are many ways to get involved, both before, during, and after the event. Plus, your volunteer efforts could help your student’s grade win a party! Use the links below to sign up! Alternatively, log onto the SSM School App, click on the ‘volunteer’ icon to sign up. Signups coming soon!

Join us for the Volunteer Informational Meeting the night before on Thursday, September 17th at 7:30 – 8PM in the Dining Room. We will stuff popcorn bags following the meeting around 8 PM.

Parking Info for Friday

The East lot will be closed beginning after school on Thursday, Sept. 17th – Friday, Sept. 18th in the afternoon.
On Friday, at 8:15 AM, the row of parking nearest the church in the south parking lot and north parking lot, as well as the east parking lot and the road around the west side of the church, will be blocked off.
The south entrance will be closed from 9:30 to 11:45 AM. Additionally, the roundabout and the first row of parking on the North side of the school (drop-off lane) will be blocked. We respectfully ask that anyone attending Mass/Martyr Marathon avoid parking in these areas during arrival.
Martyr Marathon and Mass parking should take place in the North Parking lot in the second row and beyond. Any cars in the South lot after 9:30 AM will be blocked in until 11:45 AM
Exceptions will be made for handicap-accessible vehicles.
All barricades/cones in each lot will be lifted at 11:45 AM for school pick-up.

Martyr Marathon Route

Students in K-2nd and 3rd-8th grades will have separate routes. Fun stations will be set up along the routes for the classes to rotate through. After the walk, students can enjoy popcorn and dance to the music provided by the DJ.

22nd Annual Martyr Marathon

Friday, September 18th at 9:15 - 11:45 AM

Platinum Sponsors:

Gold Sponsors

Silver Sponsors:

Bronze Sponsors