MARTiAL YOU is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that was formed to fill the need for affordable and accessible martial arts programs. Our organization is dedicated to promoting the martial arts and its benefits to both youth and adults in our local community as well as those around the globe..
The non-profit located in Carmel, Maine USA was formed in July of 2011 by Shawn Hill, a 2nd Dan in TaeKwonDo, along with 3 separate board members with similar goals but from different walks of life. Brian Bean, John Hafford and Steve Canwell stepped up to help meet this challenge by becoming the first board of directors.
On 04/23/2012 our organization was granted tax exempt status under the 501 (c) 3 Internal Revenue code and since then the original board of directors comprised of three individuals has grown to include ten like-minded people willing to help direct our efforts.
Our primary reason for existing is written into our mission statement:
To promote and help make accessible the benefits of martial arts through programs that foster health, well-being, integrity and community responsibility.
Through involvement with local schools, other non-profits organizations and community members we hope to adhere to that mission while creating collaborations that will be beneficial to everyone. MARTiAL YOU is not a martial arts school or a martial arts program, we are a source of collaboration and the glue that will bond martial arts communities and its members. There are many ways in which we plan to accomplish our mission and some are written out in a list of goals that we hope to reach.
A very important goal for us is to establish an Independent Scholarship Program to help low-income families and individuals achieve access to quality martial arts programs in their community. This project will become a collaborative glue that will link martial arts schools to our other charitable activities and projects. The Independent Scholarship Program will also encourage those within the martial arts community to volunteer and help those who wish to learn martial arts gain access to classes.
Another goal for us is to help promote quality martial arts programs as a beneficial activity for achieving health and wellness through physical exersise and the mental stimulation of learning new skills. We understand that promoting something like martial arts is not the same as say, curing disease or disaster relief but helping to keep our community members healthy and active works in favor of everyone. This initiative is a way for us to let folks know that martial arts can not only help in the fight against things like childhood obesity but it can help with social development and it can provide a means to build character in our youth. The elderly benefit from soft styles of martial arts as a means of movement and mental activity. Women can benefit from martial arts based self-defense in order to help them fight back against sexual-assault and kids of all ages can benefit from martial arts to help reduce bullying by teaching respect, courtesy and self-control.
One of the bigger goals set forth by our organization has been dubbed Project MARTiAL YOU and is an ongoing effort to create a large scale non-profit community martial arts center. This facility is destined to focus on providing the best instruction to the broadest range of individuals possible through reduced membership fees which will be subsidized by fundraising, grant funding and donations.
The planned center will not only be active in the community with student involvement projects, but will aggressively seek subsidies and funding to make the facility as green as possible. Going green with our facility will not only benefit the company by reducing its financial burden in the long term but will reduce its carbon footprint within our community. Achieving harmony with the mind, body and environment will be evident in our day to day operations.
MARTiAL YOU's planned center will bring together many styles from Japanese Karate and Chinese Kung –Fu to Korean Tae Kwon Do and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Instruction in these styles will be made available as we attain volunteers for each discipline.
The center will focus on providing a location and equipment to those instructing and those learning. Since we are in the planning stages no current specifications exist for the center but we are planning to acquire an existing building or construct a new facility with at least 25,000-40,000 square feet of space. Our goal is to have enough square footage to allow 2 or more simultaneous classes along with space for equipment.
Each training area will be equipped with foam flooring along with various training aids, such as kick pads, focus mitts, free standing striking bags and hanging heavy bags. A moderate fitness center will be created with free weights and other standard fitness tools. Multiple changing rooms for both adults and children are planned if space allows.
Apart from our very own facility, our organization will remain active with and will promote programs run by other non-profits such as the YMCA and other local schools.
Getting involved with our community is extremely important to our mission and we are finding new ways to do so each and every day. From volunteering and free community events such as our Halloween Family Bash to supporting locally run programs and reaching out to youth groups in need of productive activities, we remain committed to helping others through the benefits of martial arts. Above all MARTiAL YOU is a community of individuals who are striving to improve themselves through the study of martial arts.
