Knockouts for Girls Brings Toys & Tips to Los Angeles Foster Care Children
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| KnockOuts for Girls Deliver Toys to the Children at Hillsides |
Organizing the toy drive and the self-defense workshop was Lilit Barsegyan, GIVE BACK Program Director, Los Angeles, who said, “We wanted to do something more special than just a toy drive and meet with the kids.”
The Los Angeles charity raised money by reaching out to their community and many people donated on their website, www.ko4g.org. They arrived at Hillsides with toys for each child and then taught them several self-defense moves.
Members of the charity teach boxing, host boxing events, coordinate fundraisers event, and execute a scholarship programs for children. Knockouts for Girls also offers free classes to women and single mothers. Their mission is to use the discipline of boxing to build self esteem, inspire the human spirit, and promote physical fitness to help people facing challenges worldwide.
For foster care children who have been abused, neglected or abandoned, a sense of self-worth and empowerment is critical to the healing process. “Offering an opportunity to teach them a few tips on how to feel empowered is a step in the right direction,” said Laura Kelso, director of community resources, who worked with Knockouts for Girls in planning the workshop with the foster care children’s charity located in Pasadena.
Having worked previously with McLaren Hall, a Los Angeles County child protective institution, Lydia Castro, co-founder of Knockouts for Girls, became involved when her friend Pattiana Harootian suggested creating a charity through the boxing forum. They chose boxing since it is a difficult and demanding discipline and with diabetes on the rise in the United States, they thought it was a perfect forum to get children involved in a fun health and fitness program while providing confidence and empowerment.
Knockouts for Girls brought much more than just a smile on the children’s faces with the toys they delivered, they helped build their self-esteem while promoting fitness to face their childhood traumatic experiences.
To learn more about the foster care children’s charity and how your organization or business can help, visit www.Hillsides.org.
As a Pasadena foster care charity founded in 1913, Hillsides creates safe places for children at risk and their families by providing residential care, mental health services to break the cycle of domestic violence, special education, and advocacy. To learn more about Hillsides, visit www.Hillsides.org.
Hillsides
940 Avenue 64
Pasadena, CA 91105
(323) 254-2274
info@hillsides.org
www.Hillsides.org
Contact: Marisol Barrios
(323) 254-2274 ext. 274
mbarrios@hillsides.org