Letters And Care Packages To The Soldiers

A message to the Soldiers from the H.E.A.R.T. Martial Arts and Citizen Schools class:

First and foremost my students and I wish you safe passage home to your friends and family. For those students too young to understand why a soldier is a hero we have helped them to understand the sacrifice that you make on behalf of all of us and what you, personally, put on the line to secure our and others way of life is your own life. We have stressed to our students that by writing these letters and making these drawings that they could, and we certainly hope that it does, bring you a moment of joy that helps to strengthen your resolve.

I commend and admire you for what you do to truly make a difference in our lives. In my own small way I am trying to make a difference in the lives of my students as well as the community in which we reside and beyond. My actions pale in comparison to yours. If time permits, I think if my students were to receive letters from you or see your posts/comments on our site it would help them to understand that what they and you are doing is something very "real".

Stay strong.

Be safe.

Sincerely,

Sensei Jim and the H.E.A.R.T. Martial Arts Class

H.E.A.R.T. — Martial Arts — We're Fighting To Make A Difference!

21st Century Skills Addressed: Teamwork, Leadership, Advanced Literacy

H.E.A.R.T. Spring 2010 WOW! Performance

Once again H.E.A.R.T. Martial Arts and Citizen Schools put on a great WOW! performance. The Spring 2010 semester has been an incredible experience for all and I hope that it has made a lasting impression that will bring back fond memories for years to come.

I want to express how proud I am of the students and their many achievements, including:

- Collecting over 60 pair of shoes for Soles4Souls

- Creating over 50 handmade toys for the JAC Animal Shelter

- Collecting over a 100 pounds of dog food for the JAC Animal Shelter

- Collecting over 50 pounds of cat food for the JAC Animal Shelter

- Writing dozens of letters to our Soldiers overseas

- Creating a 3 course meal for all the residents at the Sierra House Women's Shelter

If that wasn't enough the students also learned:

- Kata 1 - Kihon Sono Ichi

- Kata 2 - Kihon Sono Ni

- Kata 3 - Kihon Sono San

- Kata 4 - Kihon Sono Yon - Well sort of, the students now know in their hearts that they need to practice this kata more but I had to let them at least try it. Perfect practice makes perfect not just practice, you have to do your best every time!

The students learned the value of teamwork and they experienced first hand that they can make a difference in themselves as well as the world around them.

I hope those of you viewing this share it with all your friends and family, please pass the word on about what we are trying to accomplish and remember...

We're Fighting To Make A Difference!

A special thank you to everyone who has helped to make this program possible especially:

Citizen Schools

Mally Beauty

Home Depot Manager Pete Jara and his team

Covered Inc.

Ted Nelson

Ellen McCarty

Miss Amanda

Mr. Bing

Mr. Mark

Mr. Max

Miss Rokshana

Sempai Reverend Aaron

Semapi Alick

Semapi Eva

Sensei Dennis

Judy Chin

David Morhaim

Ed Minto

Marino Gallo`

Rob Faulkner

Fred Lotof

The Ogilvy Gang

Soshu Shigeru Oyama - OSU!

Sincerely,

Sensei Jim Hainis

21st Century Skills Addressed: Teamwork, Leadership, Oral Communication

H.E.A.R.T. — Martial Arts — We're Fighting To Make A Difference!

HeartMartialArts.org

HeartMartialArts.blogspot.com