COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

The Valor & Virtue Martial Arts Academy LLC dojo believes that an essential aspect of martial arts training is instilling in our students a sense of self-sacrifice through community involvement. We are training future police officers, firefighters, EMTs, and military, people who are willing to make sacrifices for the benefit of others. It is important that our students not only grow up physically and mentally equipped to do these jobs, but they must also grow up with compassion and an appreciation for life, and not take for granted the simple—but important—things, such as food, good health, and freedom. There is strength in numbers, and we know that, as a dojo, we can make a difference in the community of Marana and Tucson, and this is why we participate in two very important events each year: our annual Pledge-A-Thon, and the Memorial Day Murph Challenge.

Pledge-A-Thon

Every Fall, the Valor & Virtue Martial Arts Academy LLC puts on a food drive in coordination with the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona in an effort to fight hunger in Tucson. Students, family members, and friends of the dojo bring in food items that get donated to the Food Bank. These donated items become ‘Pledges’, which the dojo then works off in a group workout, very much in the same way a jog-a-thon is run. In the Fall of 2018, our dojo raised over 300 pounds worth of food items, which equaled approximately 3,000 repetitions of exercises such as pullups, situps, squats, and running. This took a group of 40 people made up of students and family members over two hours to complete, but it is through this self-sacrifice and giving that we learn to appreciate what we have, and not take things like food for granted.

The Valor & Virtue Martial Arts Academy LLC believes it is important to remember those that have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country. This is why every year, the dojo participates in the Memorial Day Murph Challenge. The Murph Challenge is the official annual fundraiser of the LT. Michael P. Murphy Memorial Scholarship Foundation, presented by Forged®. It is also one of the primary means of funding for the Foundation on an annual basis. By participating in this event as a dojo, we not only help support the Foundation, but we help instill in others a strong sense of gratitude and respect for the sacrifices that people make in the service to our country. Our children are our future, and we want them to grow up know that making sacrifices is part of life, and that we can never forget those that have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.