Members of Valleywide Taekwondo kicked their way to more than $1,200 in donations to help the SPCA. The event is the brainchild of Madison Percevault and instructor Michael Adams.
“We were talking about giving back to the community,” said Percevault.
The money was raised Tuesday and Adams told one of the three classes their goal was to help animals in need. Fifty students in total participated. The kick-a-thon didn’t involve the students kicking like crazy for 45 seconds, but rather kicks had to be completed with proper technique or they wouldn’t count. Adams didn’t want bad habits creeping in.
“It’s a bit of a competition,” said Adams of what excited him about the event. “The energy is a lot higher. Kids at that age are thinking about giving back to the community. We are all trying to get behind Madison.”
Students collected pledges from family and friends. Adams said there were some pledges as high as $50.
“People gave some generous donations,” he said.
“In the end, when we have all the kicks in, we are going to count the total kicks and give out prizes to the person who collected the most pledges or the person who kicked the most,” said Percevault. “I’m hoping that we get a lot of money.”
When it was all done, 5,464 kicks were completed. There have also been other fundraising initiatives such as parents baking, a bottle drive and jewelry sold. Pledges were made per kick or as a flat amount.
This isn’t the first fundraising initiative that Percevault has been behind. The 11-year-old enjoys helping others and loves animals which is why she thought it was good to help the SPCA. At Christmas, instead of receiving gifts from family and friends, Percevault asks for donations to go to charities, which have been the food bank, hospital and SPCA.