NovatoSpirit Celebrates 10 Years of Service

This summer began with a bang, filled with motion and music as NovatoSpirit’s children starred in a karate tournament and a dance performance. They were also the focus TV show!

Mr. Robert Ito of the White Tiger Kempo Karate School hosted a tournament featuring our karate students, who performed skillfully with the other students. We are thankful that the tournament was also a benefit for NovatoSpirit, raising $326 for us.

Our dance students were in the spotlight onstage at the spacious Marin Civic Center Auditorium, where they impressed an audience of hundreds with their moves and colorful costumes. Behind the stage curtains, their Love 2 Dance teachers cheered them on.

One of our dancers wrote about her and her sister’s performance: “I really had fun dancing on stage like always. I hope I can keep dancing forever and sharing how fun this is. Also I’m really happy for my sister because she’s moving a lot better.”

Their mother added, “I just wanted say thank you for all the support that we get from you. During the show I was in tears to see the girls getting better and having normal lives.”

Out of the spotlight, our kids tell us their daily lives have improved as a result of the athletics we’ve provided. They say they feel stronger, healthier and more optimistic.

NovatoSpirit’s athletic instructors do more than teach sports. They show kids how to be resilient. There’s a Japanese proverb often quoted in the karate dojo that illustrates this get-back-up-on-your-feet attitude: “Fall down seven times, rise eight.”

Our mission to foster resilience was the focus of a television show hosted by Barbara Hurwick and other members of Soroptimist International of Novato. See the TV show here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Sp19lZAqc4 or go to www.soropnovato.org and look at the Sounding Board section for the video titled “Athletic Scholarships for Novato Youth.”

This year we’re celebrating our 10th Anniversary, and we’ve been blessed with recognition and financial support. Marin Founders celebrated NovatoSpirit and other Marin nonprofits at an event held at the Buck Center, where our hosts presented a trailer of a documentary film that will feature all of us someday.

We’re grateful for recent grants from Unity of Marin, Bank of America, and our partner One World Children’s Fund, www.owcf.org, which serves impoverished children in more than 20 countries around the world. In addition, Ghirardo CPA gave us a generous in-kind gift by preparing our tax returns for free.

Especially heart-warming were the gifts we received from teenagers. Alex Weitz, a graduate of San Marin High School, volunteered to raise funding and awareness for us as part of his Eagle Scout Badge. And AJ Neff hosted a “scooter camp” for young kids, raising $150 for NovatoSpirit. Thank you AJ and Alex!

The funding we’ve received has helped our NovatoSpirit kids participate in the sports they love. One of our new female students wrote, “I am learning many positive things in my Tae Kwon Do class. I am learning how to defend myself, to care for my body, and how to respect my teacher, my peers and myself.” Like this girl, most NovatoSpirit children are interested in discipline and safety, and not surprisingly, the majority of our kids are practicing the martial arts of tae kwon do and karate. Some have expressed interest in becoming police officers someday.

Recently, I graduated from the Novato Community Police Academy, where I learned about free police-led summer camps and educational programs for kids and teens. I have invited all NovatoSpirit families to participate, especially in the Explorers Program for youths interested in police careers. We are fortunate to have a Police Department that works hard to improve the lives of community members of all ages!

Many thanks to the Novato community for your concern and care for our NovatoSpirit children, as they move towards a better future for themselves and others.

NovatoSpirit is a 501c3 public charity that awards after-school athletic activities to low-income children in Novato, ages 7-18. All donations are tax deductible. For more information, please visit www.NovatoSpirit.org.