To raise funds for the American Cancer Society of Central and Eastern NC, our dojo rallied behind Men Wear Pink Ambassador J.J. Yu-Robinson (in 2024) and Shihan Stephen Robinson (in 2023) for the Pink Belt Fundraiser.
What is the Pink Belt fundraiser? It’s a a single-day karate competition and a month-long kata performance challenge. We welcomed several people from dojos who had not previously tried competition or AAU Karate rules. Lots of gold, silver, and bronze medals and smiles all around.
In 2023, we had 37 competitors from NC, SC, FL, and NJ, and 20 demonstrators who did the 100 kata challenge. We gave away pink lanyards with AAU medals and created a highlight video (see the 2-minute summary)
In 2024, we had 55 competitors from NC, SC, VA, FL, WV and IN. Am. Cancer Society Central and Eastern NC diretor brought the ACSA Pride Inflatable Chair which was a hit, and invited a Raleigh majoral candidate Terrence Ruth to our event.
We want to thank dojo families from Triangle’s Best Karate, Goldsboro Okinawan Karate, Axsom Martial Arts, and Mark Pinner Karate for operating the event, concessions and raffle. We also want to thank sponsors – AAU Karate, Uventex for promoting our event and sponsors – Hampton Inn of RDU, Sheetz, and SMAI-USA Martial Arts Supply for raffles prizes.
This local, turned Regional turned NATIONAL event will be bigger and better next year. In 2025, we aim to have top competitors from 15+ states, comemorative T-shirts, and a video station where families can share memories of their loved ones affected by cancer.
When the 2024 Highlight video is available, we will post it!
The fundraising website for American Cancer Society will remain open until Dec, 31, 2024. Men Wear Pink ambassador J.J. Yu-Robinson is still a few hundred dollars short of his goal. secure website link. PLEASE AND THANK YOU!