Center for Anti-Violence Education Punch-a-thon
June 5th from 10:30am – 12:30pm
In Prospect Park near the Lincoln Road/Ocean Avenue entrance to Prospect Park
My wife has been training at a local Brooklyn Karate Dojo for many years. She is, in fact, now in training to be a teacher there. The Dojo is unusual in that it is only for women, children and transgendered people. The Dojo is called the Center for Anti-Violence Education and here is their statement of purpose:
The Center for Anti-Violence Education (CAE) works as a catalyst for change in the lives of women, LGBT people, teen women, children, and other communities especially affected by violence. CAE’s programs are designed to develop participants’ skills, knowledge, and awareness to enable them to heal from, prevent, and counter violence. We do this work to actively create a peaceful, just, and equitable world.
Every year the Dojo raises money for their efforts through a punch-a-thon. My wife and son are participating in this fundraiser and I ask you to contribute to their excellent efforts through their pledge page (my son is the team leader).
Where Your Money Goes:
* $25: Enrolls a low-income child in an hour workshop on bullying and conflict de-escalation.
* $50: Provides a homeless LGBT young person with a two hour workshop in violence prevention.
* $100: Teaches self-defense and empowerment strategies to a pre-teen girl in our two-week course.
* $250: Provides a full 5-week Self-Defense Course for a survivor of intimate partner violence.
* $500: Reaches 20 survivors of domestic violence with strategies for self-defense and violence prevention.
More on the event:
About CAE’s Punch-a-thon
What is a Punch-a-Thon?
Like a walk-a-thon, CAE’s Punch-a-thon is a fundraiser that supports community participation through the physical activity of punching to raise funds to prevent violence and promote self defense.
What to expect at the event?
You spend a day with CAE at Prospect Park where all the teams, sponsors, CAE martial arts students and community supporters come together to complete 1,000 punches! We have a raffle that offers exciting items and gifts, and face painting for the kids or the young at heart. This year’s event will be held on June 5th from 10:30am – 12:30pm.
How do I get there?
The Lincoln Road/Ocean Avenue entrance to Prospect Park is a block from the Q train’s Prospect Park Stop – only 28 minutes from Union Square.
Our Goals
* To complete 1,000 punches representing confidence and empowerment for all survivors of violence.
* To raise $50,000 in pledges to support our programs to end violence and stand up for justice.
* To build community awareness of violence prevention.
More on this excellent Dojo and their efforts:
Building voices is our foundation. Founded in 1974, Brooklyn Women's Martial Arts became The Center for Anti-Violence Education in 1989. We began as a women’s organization with a commitment to building women’s leadership & have since developed violence-prevention curriculum for transgender people, teenagers & children. To further our vision of a violence-free society, we develop age-appropriate programming to teach violence-prevention skills and strategies and to encourage community involvement.
We are multiracial and anti-racist. Always guided by a commitment to addressing the different types of oppression that lead to violence, CAE has long used trainings, discussions, and special programs to turn our anti-racist commitment into reality and to create a community organization that is truly accessible to people from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds.
LGBT issues are central to our work. Lesbians have always played central leadership roles in BWMA and CAE, and we are committed to working in alliance with the broader LBGT community. Starting in the late 1990s, we welcome women of transgender experience and since the fall of 2004, CAE’s courses are inclusive of all transgender individuals. We have refined our policy in hopes to determine the best way to reconcile our historic mission as a women’s organization and our commitment to being allies with the transgender community and to fighting gender oppression.
Our youth programs are dynamic. Our children’s classes provide girls and boys with a safe space to talk about important issues in their lives, including bullying which is a daily reality for so many children. The teen program nurtures their leadership development, and teen women & transgender youth work with adults on intergenerational teaching teams in the children’s program. Our programs encourage youth to find their voices and to realize their own individual potential and their connections with their broader worlds.
Our programs are economically accessible. Many of our students attend classes for free or almost-free. Sliding-scale fees and free child-care reflect our bedrock commitment to women, transgender people, teens, and children, families and individuals, of all socio-economic backgrounds.
Please help Jacob and Joy raise money for this excellent effort. Please come by Prospect Park to see the event and please contribute even if you can't join us.