Martial arts students break into fund-raising
When you break things, it generally ends up costing you money and raising your insurance rates, so when the folks at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital called Chris Knight at Spirit Martial Arts with an idea for a fund-raiser that involved busting things up, he was all for it.
“They called me and asked if I was interested in hosting a fund-raiser for them. I was happy to,” Knight said. “It’s wonderful for me to be associated with an organization that does so much good in the world.”
Today, Knight’s martial arts dojo, at 2128 N. Pines Road, No. 5N, behind the 7-Eleven at Pines and I-90, hosts its first Break-a-thon from noon to 2 p.m.
Students have been busy collecting sponsors and donations, with proceeds going directly to the nonprofit hospital and groundbreaking research facility dedicated to treating seriously ill children without regard to ability to pay.
Sponsors pledged on a per-board-broken basis, and Knight expects to see more than a few bruised knuckles by the end of the two-hour affair.
“I’m not entirely sure how many kids I’ll have taking part in this,” Knight said. “It could be anywhere from about 25 to more than 50. But every little bit helps.”
Knight said he’s spent some extra time in his classes teaching kids how to go about breaking boards for maximum efficiency with a minimum of physical discomfort.
“I have some re-breakable boards that we can snap back into place after they break it, and we’ve been using those a lot getting ready,” he said. “But we’ll be using real boards for the event.
“We had a lumber yard very graciously donate some boards for the kids to break, but we can definitely use some more – so if someone is inclined to make another donation. …”
St. Jude’s was founded by entertainer Danny Thomas, who dedicated much of his life to raising money for the nonprofit hospital and research facility in Memphis, Tenn.
When Danny, at the time a struggling, fledgling entertainer, and his wife, Rose Marie, were expecting their first child, Danny prayed at a shrine to St Jude, the patron saint of hopeless causes, asking for a sign as to whether he should stay in show business or find a job to take care of his family. In return for a sign, he promised to erect a shrine to his patron saint.
Danny soon found himself working regularly in Chicago and went on to become one of the best-loved entertainers of his generation, starring in the beloved sitcom “Make Room For Daddy” and producing his own show as well as its spin-off, “The Andy Griffith Show” and others.
Never forgetting his promise, Danny decided his shrine would be a hospital for children regardless of their ability to pay as well as a beacon for research in the children’s diseases.
Today his daughter, Marlo, and the rest of his children carry on that legacy of hope, helping to raise money for the internationally renowned facility through the foundation her father started, ALSAC (American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities).
Knight said he would be delighted to have observers drop by to watch the fund-raiser and see the kind of work his students do.
“The thing we teach is to be connected to the world,” he said. “This is a great example of what we teach.”