Piles of splintered plywood were left on the floor after last Wednesday night’s Break for Hope fundraiser for Hope Haven Women’s shelter that saw local taekwondo students kick, punch and break wooden boards for charity. The Northern Lights Taekwondo Club in Plamondon raised over $5,660 for the local women’s shelter, with funds going towards unfunded programs at Hope Haven.
The fundraiser was a first for the local taekwondo club who wanted to help raise funds for the local non-profit but also teach kids to help other people.
“We wanted to teach the kids to have respect for fellow men,” said taekwondo instructor Dale Crossland, adding that the charity event helped enforce the five tenets of the sport: courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control and indomitable spirit.
Hope Haven staff say they were thrilled when they heard of the charity idea and say that the five tenets of taekwondo are also some of the things staff preach to women at the shelter.
“The tenets are the type of things we try to instill with our clients in our building, so the fundraiser idea worked out nicely and was a natural partnership,” said Cassie Putnam, the executive director of Hope Haven.
Last week’s event also saw some of the club’s students graduate to the next belt level, but it wasn’t an easy task as Crossland explained that the younger participants have to meet the skill level and get all of the necessary pieces of coloured tape attached to their belts which signify topics like respect and board breaking.
“The students had to get all of the coloured pieces of tape on their belt before graduating to the next belt level. Each tape piece signifies the achievement for each student and they had to earn the black piece of tape from their parents for respect at home,” said Crossland, adding that taekwondo is a sport that encourages everyone to participate. “The beautiful thing about taekwondo is that it allows us to practice with the whole family.”
And for the Crossland family, taekwondo has been a family sport for the past few years. Crossland, his wife and two sons are getting ready to test for their Level 3 black belts in June, and if they get their belts, they will be the first family in Alberta to do so.
“It’s an awesome way to keep close with the family,” said Crossland, who teaches taekwondo to students with his family and with fellow instructor Gordon Taylor, who has been with the club for more than 15 years. The fundraiser marked the end of the taekwondo season but the club is expected to start up back in the fall.
