Martial arts group fights hardship with food gifts

The Jiketsu Foundation has teamed up with the Coalition for the Protection of Children to assist families struggling in the economic downturn.

In the past 18 months, the children’s charity has seen demand for its food donations triple.

The Jiketsu Foundation has now asked families of children in its Tiny Tots and Youth Martial Arts Programme to donate any non-perishable food items.

So far, enough goods have been donated to support seven families for a week.

“We have a ‘drop box’ and hopefully this will get bigger and bigger as we go on, but this is a beautiful start,” said Reuben Bean, Jiketsu Foundation president.

“We were very impressed by the work of the Coalition for the Protection of Children and are going to try to assist them on a quarterly basis.

“We have a philosophy here that ‘help from a few can go a long way to provide for the many’. We try to teach our children the principles of selflessness and unconditional love, so this is a good cause giving to those less fortunate.”

Nicola Feldman, the Coalition’s executive director, said the charity’s food store donates a bag of non-perishable items to up to 20 families a week.

Demand has tripled in the past 18 months.

“It’s not just food handouts,” she said.

“We try to empower any families that come in, by meeting with them to assess their needs. We try to work with Government agencies to help get them on a better track.

“We are very excited by the offer from Jiketsu because these kind of community partnerships are very important, especially in these difficult economic times.

“It is important to collaborate and work together.”

For more information on the Coalition for the Protection of Children, contact 295-1150. The Jiketsu Foundation is based at the Old Berkeley Institute. Contact 705-7541.