Annual Kick-A-Thon to Help Local Nonprofit

PRLog (Press Release) - May 1, 2012 - Annual Kick-A-Thon to Help Local Nonprofit
Martial Arts Family Fitness selects Storyteller to benefit from annual fundraiser.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif., May 1, 2012 – Martial Arts Family Fitness (MAFF), a family-owned and operated school dedicated to improving lives through martial arts, announced today that it has selected local nonprofit Storyteller Children’s Center, an organization that provides quality, tuition-free early childhood education for homeless and at-risk children, as well as comprehensive family support services. Students, instructors and staff of MAFF will participate in this annual event.

"Storyteller Children’s Center is an amazing organization with a dedicated and caring staff," said Dave Wheaton, founder and owner of Martial Arts Family Fitness. "We discussed numerous local groups that can benefit from our efforts – and there are many – but decided that the annual fundraiser our school conducts this year would help children that really need. Our school’s community is very caring, and Storyteller reflects what we stand for as a school.”
   
“Over the past five years we have raised over $100,000 for various groups and causes,” added Lori Kibbie, an Instructor and Operations Manager at MAFF. “We have raised money for children’s hospitals, the victims of the Haitian earthquake through Direct Relief International, a home for orphaned children in Nepal, and local organizations like Domestic Violence Solutions and AHA!. We are always concerned about our local community, and saw this as a tremendous opportunity to make a small impact in Santa Barbara. We coupled this event with our Third Annual All-School Promotion, which will be held on July 21st at Manning Park.”

Students and staff of Martial Arts Family Fitness will have the opportunity to kick for three minutes and raise money through either “per-kick” or “flat” pledges. “It is very fulfilling to see students at our school value the importance of helping others,” added Mr. Wheaton. “I think that we certainly selected a great organization, and I am confident that our school will pull through again.”

Storyteller’s Executive Director, Terri Allison, added, “We are thrilled to be benefitting from this event. Community support like MAFF’s makes a significant impact in our ability to provide services for some of the community’s most vulnerable children and families. Storyteller provides onsite counseling, parent education classes, nutritious meals for children, and many more services that help families in crisis achieve stability. High-quality early intervention programs like ours positively impact children's learning, behavior and health outcomes well into their adult years, which generates benefits to society that far exceed program costs.”

Anyone interested in making a donation can call Martial Arts Family Fitness and speak with a staff member directly.

About Storyteller Children’s Center
Storyteller Children’s Center provides quality, tuition-free early childhood education for homeless and at-risk children, as well as comprehensive support services for their families. Parents are able to work or go to school full-time while their children are enrolled. Children receive healthy meals, medical screenings and therapy if needed for developmental delays. Parent education classes and referral services are also offered. For more information about Storyteller, contact Melissa Walker at 805/682-9585 or visit www.storytellercenter.org.

About Martial Arts Family Fitness
Martial Arts Family Fitness is an award winning school that opened its doors in Santa Barbara in 2002.  The Chief Instructor, Master Dave Wheaton has trained in martial arts for over 40 years, and is the founder of Hapkido International, an organization that teaches his unique martial arts curriculum of Dynamic Circle Hapkido to many schools across the United States.  Martial Arts Family Fitness teaches martial arts and fitness classes to adults and children, specializing in children’s life skills, youth leadership and family fitness. For information on Martial Arts Family Fitness visit www.kickboxers.com or call 805.963.6233.

Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/11863715/1