Karate clubs students give back
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Cancer really needs its butt kicked.
It's what the students of the Norfolk Affiliated Karate Clubs had in mind in April when they spent a week holding martial arts events with the goal of doing their part in raising funds and awareness for cancer those affected by cancer.
Events were held - such as a Kick-A-Thon in Delhi for example - between the NAKC's five clubs (Delhi, Tillsonburg, Port Dover and three in Simcoe) raising $9,270 for the Juravinski Cancer Centre Foundation in Hamilton. Before the club's annual belt grading ceremony at Holy Trinity Tuesday, Melissa Shuker, business and community engagement officer for the Juravinski Centre was on hand to receive the donation.
"When we got word that the clubs were holding the events we thought we would be receiving a donation of several hundred dollars," Shuker said. "We never thought it would be over $9,000. It's amazing. To see what the kids can do to fundraise on a community level is breathtaking."
Sensei Marco Reyes said everyone in the club seems to know someone that's affected by cancer. So choosing the Juravinski Centre as a recipient was a no brainer.
"We all know someone. It's an issue that's close to our hearts," Reyes said. "All the clubs held events on the same week (in April). We thought we would be getting donations of $1, $5, or $10. It was surprising to see donations of $50 and higher. After we collected it all it amounted to over $9,000."
Eddie Chau
519-426-3528 ext. 134
eddie.chau@sunmedia.ca