Projects from Sonoma Taekwondo

Writing Letters to Our Soldiers

2009-11-25T06:29:00.001-08:00

Status
Initially this project is going to be used to help a local Sonoma group send out our letters and their gift boxes to our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan during the 1st week of December. Eventually, we will make this an ongoing project and part of the community stripe for belt rank promotion

Problem/Opportunity
Supporting our soldiers when they are constantly in harms way should be one of our obligations. Teaching our children to understand the idea of gratitude, why they have the freedoms they have is because of young men and women risking their lives to protect us all.

Solution
Make the idea of letter writing a part of our students stripping process, and give them the help, examples and guidelines to understand how to do this project.

Action
1) Set up a guideline for our students to use if they need help with this project.
2) Make the guideline available at the school and the internet.
3) Be the link that collect the letters and gets them to the resource that distributes tem to the soldiers
4) Make sure student receives recognition for helping

Results
We have written and sent 48 letter to date and will be making this an ongoing project with continual results

Produce pick-up from local grocery

2008-12-29T07:28:00.000-08:00

Status:
On Going project

Problem/Opportunity:
Leaping Lizard Rescue can have as many as 150 animals needing support/sanctuary from our rescue program at any one time. It takes an enormous amount of food/money to feed them correctly.

Solution:
Make a request at the local Albertson to pick-up any produce that they would otherwise discard to help off-set this cost.

Action:
1) Write a letter to their corporate headquarters making the formal request on behalf of our non-profit animal rescue.
2) Once request is granted, make arrangements to pick-up produce from the store.
3) Assist produce manager and employees anyway you need to to make pickups smooth and consistent.
4) Bring food to animal rescue site to be sorted, refrigerated, and stored.
5) Make extra produce available to other rescues.
6) dispose of produce that has spoiled into compose pile.
7) Recycle cardboard boxes.

Results:
We have established a very good relationship with our local Albertson's, and pick-up produce that would otherwise be thrown away 7 days a week / 365 days a year.

Christmas Presents Project

2008-12-23T07:49:00.000-08:00

Status:
Completed

Problem/Opportunity

We know that there are many many children in our community that will not have much in the way of gifts this Christmas. Have our families come together and assist with this community issue.

Solution:

Have parents and students of Sonoma Taekwondo bring in new or softly used toys, books, and gifts to the school. Give these items to organizations that can distribute them to families that are in need.

Action:

1) Put out flyer to our students and parents asking for items.

2) Put out a request for shoe boxes and wrapping paper.

a) Go to local shoe store (Payless shoes)and collect throw-away boxes.

b) Go to Dollar stores for cheap wrapping paper

3) As items come into school have a storage place for them.

4) Call organizations to coordinate with when your project is done.

5) Assign parents and students to organize, box, wrap, and tag gift.

6) Distribute packages to the different organizations you made arrangements with.

Results:

Sonoma Taekwondo was able to collect, wrap, and deliver

95 gifts to local juvenile hall

30 gifts to local Boys and Girls Club of Sonoma

107 gifts to Redwood Gospel Mission for there Christmas Giving project

View the slideshow of this project

Mandy's Act of Kindness project

2008-12-06T12:47:00.000-08:00

Status:

Project Completed

Problem/Opportunity
Mandy Ahlboorn need to add a Community Service project to her 3rd Dan testing.

Solution:

Use our Acts of Kindness card Mandy is to bring in 8000 Acts of Kindness by May 1st 2007.

Action Plan:

1) Copy, and pass out cards tofriends, family, fellow students, and classmates.

2) Collect the cards back from everyone.

3) Tape the cards on windows and walls through out the school so students can see what 8000 AoK's look like.

4) Log and record the event using it as part of her senior project, and as part of her 3rd Dan testing.

Results:

Mandy collected over 8000 AoK's and scored an "A" on her senior project, and passed her 3rd Dan testing.

Boys and Girls Club Confidence Demo & Board Break

2008-12-06T06:50:00.000-08:00

Status:

Completed

Problem/Opportunity:

How to build confidence in elementary school age children that are potential at risk children.

Proposed Solution:

Arrange for a demonstration of martial arts by children their own age at the Boys and Girls club. Allowing the children in the audience to break a board at the end.

Action Plan:

1) Give a short motivational talk to help inspire audience.

2) Give a 20 minute demo of Taekwondo.

3) Allow B&G kids to have an opportunity to do a very simple board break.

4) Sign and date boards for kids to take with them.

5) Spend time answer question so kids leave demo with good understanding of what martial arts is and how it can help them.

Results:

Every child in the audience broke a board B&G club staff was ecstatic and want more demos.

View the slideshow of this project

Boys and Girls Club Taekwondo Class Project

2008-12-06T06:38:00.000-08:00

Status:
This is an ongoing weekly class (every Wednesday 2:00pm) during the school year

Problem / Opportunity:
To give the 4th and 5th graders from El Verano elementary school the opportunity to develop physical, and mental skill associated with traditional martial arts classes.

Proposed Solution:
1) Supply each child with a martial arts uniform at no cost to them.

2) Have the 4th and 5th grade students escorted to our martial arts school from the B&G club once a week for a 45 minute class.

3) In order to continue classes students must be receiving passing grades and in good standing at B&G club after school program.

Action Plan:
1) Teach basic skills for student to progress through stripping program and promote to next belt level.

2) Use this opportunity to conduct "Mat Chats" about basic life skills. These chats would be 3 to 5 minutes in duration and cover wide variety of topics pertinent to their age.

4) Allow these students to also train on Saturday mornings to be able to experience a more traditional class with many belt levels and ages.

Results:
This is the second year of classes, we have had 41 students use the program with 4 returning the second year

Thanksgiving dinner project

2008-12-05T20:12:00.000-08:00

Status:
Completed

Problem / Opportunity:
Families in the El Verano, Flowery, Charter schools in need of assistance with food for Thanksgiving celebration.

Proposed Solution:
Students and parents donate food, have local businesses donate food and create a food pantry specifically for Thanksgiving celebration

Action Plan:
1) Have our students and parents help with creating a food pantry at the school through ongoing donations.

2) Use the schools as a resource for names of families that are in need of assistance.

3) Organize and store donated food.

4) Set a time for families to come to the school and pick up food to take home and fix for their Thanksgiving meal.

Results:
On Wednesday November 26 and Thursday November 27 we distributed meals to 32 families from the 3 schools. Meals included appetizers, vegetables, fruit, soup, paste, dinner rolls, yams, turkey, potatoes, and desert.

Also created the basis for our ongoing food pantry

Publicity:
Article from the Sonoma Index Tribune (click below)
http://sonomanews.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/viewer.aspx

View the Slideshow of this project

Leaping Lizard Rescue

2008-12-04T10:13:00.000-08:00

This is an animal rescue project that my wife (Barbie) and I started because of the Ultimate Black Belt Test (UBBT 1) that I became involved in in 2004-05.
This project was to be the community service portion of my testing. Tom Callos, my UBBT coach, had challenged the 27 member team to "think out of the box" as martial artist and do, and create things that would help our communities, create change, and promote martial arts in a new way.

Barbie is an unbelievable animal lover and was very aware of the issues with exotic animals in the United States. These birds, lizards, snakes, turtles, tortoises are sold in pet stores every where, and are in homes by the tens of thousands, but when a person no longer wants them or cannot continue to raise them there is no city or county humane society, or animal shelter that will take them in and readopt them. Which means that abuse or misteatment of these creatures is a hugh issue.

So we created a non-profit organization called Leaping Lizard Rescue. In the past 4 years we have rescued a mind boggling 1500 animals, (one rescue involved over 80 animals at one home), and because of my wifes love, understanding, and knowlege of these creatures we have people come from all over the western United States to seek us out and use our program.
Check us out at http://www.leapinglizardrescue.com/