St. Jude fundraiser a rousing success

On Saturday, May 7, 22 Taekwondo, Hapkido and fitness students gathered at Martial Art Concepts in Fallbrook, raising $5,390 in cash donations for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

With the cheers of their supporters and under the watchful eye of the black belt volunteers, students ranging in age from 4 years to adult kicked for one-, two- or three-minute intervals, broke boards and endured push-ups, sit-ups and frog jumps to raise money for the research hospital. Additional monies were raised through the sale of hand-knitted scarf sets, food sales, on-site massages and raffled items. The items donated for the raffle came from numerous members of the community and friends. Lunch was donated by Martial Art Concepts for all participants and available for purchase to all attendees, with all the proceeds going directly to St. Jude.

Juha Silvola and Randy Hetrick prepared and barbequed the mouthwatering hot dogs and hamburgers.

“We are very pleased with the amount of money raised in just two hours,” commented Master Dan Paulson, owner/instructor and fundraising coordinator. “We also enjoyed a great time of fun and fellowship. The success of this event is due to efforts of our students, their sponsors and everyone who donated their time and talents to make this a huge success.”