Martial Arts Program's Korean Thanksgiving raises funds for seniors

Nov 11, 2015

The Mount Shasta Martial Arts Program recently completed its most successful annual fall fundraiser for the Senior Nutrition Program. It resulted in a donation of $443, which MSMAP gave to Mount Shasta Recreation and Parks District Administrator Mike Rodriquez on November 3.

Chuseok Cooking Crew, 2015
 

The crew in charge of the food.

 

 “Life is rich & beautiful.”

The fundraising season began with MSMAP’s fifth celebration of Korean Thanksgiving, known as Chuseok, on September 25. Several local families brought in a variety of food including:

MSMAP Executive Director Chuck Buhs, who has trained and traveled extensively in Korea several times, said, “Chuseok is a harvest festival with traditions that date back to the beginnings of Korean culture. Much like our own Thanksgiving, it’s a celebration and appreciation of community.”

“We understand each other through sharing our food and friendship,” added Lesly Meyers, a parent of one of the students in the program and a native of Korea. ”We enjoyed providing different kinds of food and seeing the happy faces of everyone. When we share anything with others, life is beautiful and rich!”

Buhs said Lesly Meyers “deserves special recognition. She spent several weeks getting this event put together including planning and preparing a variety of delicious authentic Korean food for everyone. She and her husband, Josh, are a big reason we had a great event this year.”

 ”A better demonstration”

The MSMAP participants provided a demonstration during the event of the Korean martial arts of taekwondo and yongmudo.

“Taekwondo is notable for its dynamic kicking combinations,” explained Buhs. “There’s a reason why it’s included as an Olympic sport: it’s very exciting and fun both to practice and to watch. Yongmudo is primarily a ‘self-defense’ martial art. This means that it covers a wide variety of skills and techniques including kicks, strikes, throws, rolls, submission wrestling and joint-locks.”

Mark Coulter, a long-time MSMAP supporter and father of one of MSMAP’s first black belts, observed that “this was a better demonstration than usual because it was shorter while still showing several different things.”

 Helping the Seniors

Buhs sees MSMAP’s support of the Senior Nutrition Program as “an extension of our martial arts practice. Ours is an ‘action philosophy.’ It’s about establishing a belief in ourselves and accomplishing goals because we’re training to act with clarity and good judgement. Raising dollars for and awareness of the senior program is simply putting this philosophy into practice.”

Mount Shasta City Park Administrative Assistant Cindy Smith detailed the challenges to provide regular meals for the seniors.

“The senior program must raise an additional $40,000 each year to cover the service overhead for labor, raw food, non-food supplies, delivery expenses, utilities, and more,” explained Smith. “We greatly appreciate the contribution of groups like MSMAP making the effort to reverse this deficit with $1,353 over the past four years.”

“As we move into the holiday season, we ask the community to show their support of senior services with a donation to the Mt. Shasta Senior Nutrition Program,” added Smith. “Shelf-stable food items — soups, stews, canned fruit, juices — are a big help during the winter months. It can make a difference.”

 More Information

About the Senior Nutrition Program
The Recreation and Parks District is the official provider for the senior meal program thru a contract with the California Department of Aging and Planning and Service Area 2 - Agency on Aging. Year-round donations of food and money for the Senior Nutrition Program can be made by calling 926-2494.

“Since 1974, there has been a hot lunch program for senior citizens at the City Park Recreation Center...55+ meals are delivered to homebound seniors in the South County (Meals-on-Wheels). Transportation to and from the Mt. Shasta lunch site is also available...The Senior Nutrition Program strives to not only meet the nutritional needs of its senior participants, but also recognizes the importance of socialization and life enrichment. Informational programs, special events, and other activities are a regular component of the senior lunch program schedule.”

 
A Little About MSMAP
MSMAP, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, offers dynamic and modern martial arts training for children, teens, and adults five days each week. More information can be found on their website at www.MtShastaMA.org, email ( ), phone (530.859.2024), and on Facebook (MSMAP on Facebook). And, learn much, much more about Chuseok.

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