« The hidden horror of child sex abuse | Main | Teacher faces porn charges »
October 24, 2004
Karate students break for charity
By Hayli Fellwock -- bgdailynews.com
The Barren River Area Child Advocacy Center helps the nearly 300 child victims of sexual abuse who live in the 10-county Barren River Area Development District.
On Saturday, more than 150 students from Jeramy Black’s Tae Kwon Do Academy teamed up to help the center through the Board Break-a-Thon in the parking lot of Lowe’s on Campbell Lane.
The fund-raiser was a demonstration of strength and confidence, characteristics that can lessen the likelihood of abuse, said tae kwon do student Jason Hope, 16.
“You have the confidence that you can defend yourself if you need to, but you also have the confidence to know you can walk away,” he said. “It makes you less of a target. People are going to pick on someone who seems like they would be easily bullied.”
Basic principles taught in tae kwon do include perseverance, integrity, courtesy and community, a principle Hope said he was enjoying exercising Saturday.
“It’s a sense of fulfillment to be able to help people in need,” he said. “We’re doing something rather than just being in the studio.”
The students asked for sponsorships from family and friends in the three weeks leading up to the all-day Break-a-Thon. In the end, more than $7,000 was raised for the Child Advocacy Center.
Lowe’s donated 2,000 boards for the event and has agreed to team up with Jeramy Black’s Tae Kwon Do Academy again.
The event doubled as a safety fair for kids, with informational literature, gun locks and child identification kits being distributed by the Bowling Green Police Department. The Barren River District Health Department and Kentucky State Police were also on hand to offer instruction on the proper way to install child car seats.
Lowe’s Home Safety Council takes on a community project each year, focusing last year on improving the homes of senior citizens.
Kelley Minyard, human resources coordinator for Lowe’s, helped hatch the plan for this year’s Boards Break-a-Thon while taking her daughter to tae kwon do lessons at Jeramy Black’s studio.
“We go out into the community every year and look for someone to help,” she said. “This is an exact fit with what the Home Safety Council stands for and it also attracts so much attention.”
Shelby Black, co-owner of the tae kwon do studio, agreed that the fundraiser was an ideal match.
“What we do as an academy is safety of children and protection of children and that’s what the child advocacy center does, too,” she said. “For us, there was no better fit because we have the same goals.”
Posted by Nealus at October 24, 2004 02:30 PM
Comments
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)
