Krav for a Cause: Haxton Family Trust Fundraiser

This weekend was the Krav for a Cause: Haxton Family Trust Fundraiser. We have been preparing for this event for some time and it was great to finally have it all come together. For those of you who don’t know, my husband Ernie won the “Paul Haxton” award at last year’s pageant. Paul Haxton was an incredible individual, who was tragically killed in a car accident Christmas Eve 2010. His wife Trina was paralyzed and they have 2 young daughters who survived. Ernie was touched by the story of the Haxtons, and had suggested to me that we do a fundraiser for the family. We planned a fundraiser that we thought would be interesting, a day of martial arts, at Premier Martial Arts in Glen Mills, PA. We were so happy that we were able to help such a special family.

Promotional Flyer for the Event

Krav for a Cause was a day of martial arts and self-protection for children and adults. We offered a “Bully Busters” and “Karate for Concentration” class for the children and a Krav Maga (Israeli Self-Protection) introduction class, Car Jacking and Self-Defense class, and Women’s Self-Defense class for all of the adults. All of the classes had small fees, which were donated to the Haxton Family Trust. We also had a great raffle, which included gift cards from Whole Foods, a visit to WMMR radio station, and a Karate Pizza Party.  In addition, Pizza Pan, the restaurant next door to Premier Martial Arts where the fundraiser was held, donated 10% of all meal sales that day to the fundraiser. A huge thank you to all of our event supporters!!

Assisting my husband Ernie during the Karate for Concentration class

Adult Krav Maga class

Women's Self-Defense Class

It was a great day full of positive energy! We had people stopping by throughout the day to participate, and some just stopped by to donate. I was touched by the generosity of others and what was amazing was that many of the individuals did not know the Haxton Family on a personal level, but just wanted to help. There are definitely a lot of good people in the world today! I am so happy to announce that we raised $1100 for the Haxton Family Trust, with some possible additional donations coming in!! I am so happy that we could make a difference for this family.

In addition, the Women’s Self-Defense class taught by Athena Clarkin was amazing!! April is Sexual Assault Awareness month, and I thought this tied in nicely with the fundraiser. I had a great time participating in the class with some fantastic ladies. We learned palm strikes, elbows, kicks, and knees…it was a great feeling to hit some training pads!! We even had an opportunity to test our skills at the end on an individual wearing a “Blue Man suit” (he was entirely covered by pads, which was a good thing because the women were fierce!!) I was excited to participate in this class, and it also goes hand in hand with my platform “Stay Aware, Stay Safe”. Hopefully, with some of the awareness techniques which I teach women, it won’t have to escalate to a self-defense situation, but just in case it does, this was great training to have!! I have a couple of bruises on my arm, but it was well worth it!!

With Melissa & Marlee

Athena talking to Melissa about the Choke hold defense

With our Premier Martial Arts mascot, the Dragon

With Sheri & Siouxzan

With Self-Defense Instructor, Athena Clarkin

With Angie, Mrs. Delaware United States 2011

I was exhausted, mentally and physically after the event, but would do it again in a heartbeat. As a titleholder and an individual, it is important to give back to others and remember that even the smallest gesture can make a huge positive impact on others. Thank you to all of those who supported the event, we really appreciate it!!!

Until next time,

With my friend the Dragon

Melissa Kirk

Mrs. New Castle County United States 2012