About Super Kids Karate, Inc.
History
Profits from The Las Vegas Heat Wave Tournament support Super Kids Karate, Inc., a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization started by Master Sue Langdon of Lone Mountain Taekwondon in Las Vegas.
The idea started in 1991 when parents at the taekwondo school decided to create a support group for kids doing tournaments and travelling out of town together. The group pooled their money and offered car caravans to different AAU events all up and down the West Coast so more kids could afford the trips. Later, after Langdon was appointed the Nevada director of the AAU taekwondo program, she encouraged the group to start using their pooled funds to support members of the community who were hit by disasters and then expanded that to help students we came to know who were in crisis. The parent group became a support group for students who were in crisis, came were in foster programs, from homelessness, or were in financial stress.
In 2003 Master Langdon applied for nonprofit status as a national 501(c)(3) charitable organization and created a regular support system for kids at risk.
Benefits
SuperKids Karate, Inc. now has the ability to sponsor students who come from at-risk households if they want to take martial arts classes at Lone Mountain Taekwondo in Las Vegas. Financially, the students are asked only to provide what they or their family can afford. Personally, the student who is being supported in their quest to become a black belt is also expected to support the school.
Students receiving support from SuperKids:
- assist with classes for the younger students;
- are required to maintain excellent behavior in the school and best efforts in their academic studies;
- are expected to live with courtesy, honesty, hard work, self discipline, and concern for others;
- are expected to welcome new students and share their knowledge of how we do things;
- are asked to help in set up, management, and take down of special school events.
By participating in these efforts, students get a picture of the effort it takes to suppport others. Class prices at Lone Mountain Taekwondo are deliberately kept low to encourage students with limited means to be able to train in a discipline that will help them develop respect for others, honesty, a ‘hard work builds higher success’ mentality, regular daily consistency creating discipline to reach goals, and pride in themselves.
How We Raise Money
SuperKids Karate receives a portion of the funds raised each year from the Las Vegas Heat Wave Taekwondo Tournament hosted by Lone Mountain Taekwondo. The tournament is held every fall.
During the summer, SuperKids also raises money by staffing a fireworks booth for the week before the 4th of July. SuperKids recipients, their parents, and the staff and black belts of Lone Mountain Taekwondo sell Safe and Sane Phantom Fireworks that are legal in Nevada. The team staffs a booth for 7 days, 24 hours a day, to raise money to pay for the students’ training or other expenses.
We invite foster parents, community organizations and families in crisis to explore the experience of building yourself up to the best of your abilities with the assistance of taekwondo training and overcoming your challenges by becoming a part of our community, supporting each other in the martial arts way.