FW: A message to all CKF dojos

From: Mark Kawabe [mailto:mark@kendoniagara.com]
Sent: November-07-10 2:31 PM
To: Mark Kawabe
Subject: A message to all CKF dojos

A request for help from Mark Kawabe I Need Your Help to Get a Grant From Pepsi Greetings, If you're wondering why you've received this email, it's because you were listed as one of the contacts for your dojo on the CKF website. I'm Mark Kawabe of the Hayakawa Kendo Club in Welland. The club was formed in 2004 and this year, I opened a second location in St. Catharines. It's a non-profit club - I teach because I love Kendo and want to share it with as many people as possible - but because we're a small non-profit club, we don't have a lot of money to promote it and attract more members. I think every Kendo dojo in Canada has gone through this situation. I have an opportunity to make a big change through a grant, which is where I need your help. The Grant Pepsi is running a grant program through their Pepsi Refresh Project. Ideas can be submitted for funding and if they are accepted into the grant process, they are then voted on by the general public. The grant idea(s) that receive the most votes over a 60-day period receive the funding. I submitted a request for a $10,000 grant to allow the Hayakawa Kendo Club to offer low-cost kendo instruction to youth for a year. The money will be used to cover rent for the year, starting equipment costs and marketing. The plan is to get up to 100 youth (18 & under) involved in Kendo training, with classes twice a week at our St. Catharines location. The cost to the students will be $10 / month. This is really affordable and if we get even 1/2 those numbers, the program will be self-sustaining after a year and we'll be able to continue. How You Can Help As I mentioned, ideas were submitted to Pepsi for consideration. Our idea was accepted into the program and voting began on November 1st, 2010. People can vote once per day for each day of the voting cycle, which runs until December 31, 2010. The three ideas with the most votes in their category get the grant money. I am hoping that you can help our cause in one of two ways: 1) Encourage your own club members to vote for our grant request once per day. 2) Vote for our grant request every day at the following website: http://www.refresheverything.ca/kendoniagara People vote by registering at the Pepsi Refresh Project website which requires you to provide your name and email address, then search for our idea (search for "kendo" in the search box) and vote for the idea. If the Hayakawa Kendo Club receives this grant, we will be able to offer very inexpensive Kendo training. Niagara's been hit hard with the recession and cost is a major factor in getting parents to commit to Kendo. By lowering the price and offering quality instruction, we will be able to build a large membership base and increase the popularity of Kendo in the Niagara region. I am very excited about the possibilities and hope you are too. Kendo is an important part of my life and I do my best to share my love of Kendo with my community. This grant can help our club make Kendo accessible to everyone in Niagara. I appreciate any help you can provide. If even half of the people doing Kendo in Canada were to vote for our idea every day of the campaign, I am sure we would have a very good chance of success. If you have any questions, please contact me directly at mark@kendoniagara.com or 289-241-3080 (cell). Thank you for your time - and your vote! Best Regards, Chief Instructor Hayakawa Kendo Club, Welland http://www.KendoNiagara.com P.S. If we all work together, then during the next Pepsi grant cycle, one or more Kendo clubs could also apply and get funding. Imagine the possibilities for Kendo in Canada!

----- Original Message -----

Hi All,

How can we help this man? Morgan Sensei

A request for help from Mark Kawabe I Need Your Help to Get a Grant From Pepsi Greetings, If you're wondering why you've received this email, it's because you were listed as one of the contacts for your dojo on the CKF website. I'm Mark Kawabe of the Hayakawa Kendo Club in Welland. The club was formed in 2004 and this year, I opened a second location in St. Catharines. It's a non-profit club - I teach because I love Kendo and want to share it with as many people as possible - but because we're a small non-profit club, we don't have a lot of money to promote it and attract more members. I think every Kendo dojo in Canada has gone through this situation. I have an opportunity to make a big change through a grant, which is where I need your help. The Grant Pepsi is running a grant program through their Pepsi Refresh Project. Ideas can be submitted for funding and if they are accepted into the grant process, they are then voted on by the general public. The grant idea(s) that receive the most votes over a 60-day period receive the funding. I submitted a request for a $10,000 grant to allow the Hayakawa Kendo Club to offer low-cost kendo instruction to youth for a year. The money will be used to cover rent for the year, starting equipment costs and marketing. The plan is to get up to 100 youth (18 & under) involved in Kendo training, with classes twice a week at our St. Catharines location. The cost to the students will be $10 / month. This is really affordable and if we get even 1/2 those numbers, the program will be self-sustaining after a year and we'll be able to continue. How You Can Help As I mentioned, ideas were submitted to Pepsi for consideration. Our idea was accepted into the program and voting began on November 1st, 2010. People can vote once per day for each day of the voting cycle, which runs until December 31, 2010. The three ideas with the most votes in their category get the grant money. I am hoping that you can help our cause in one of two ways: 1) Encourage your own club members to vote for our grant request once per day. 2) Vote for our grant request every day at the following website: http://www.refresheverything.ca/kendoniagara People vote by registering at the Pepsi Refresh Project website which requires you to provide your name and email address, then search for our idea (search for "kendo" in the search box) and vote for the idea. If the Hayakawa Kendo Club receives this grant, we will be able to offer very inexpensive Kendo training. Niagara's been hit hard with the recession and cost is a major factor in getting parents to commit to Kendo. By lowering the price and offering quality instruction, we will be able to build a large membership base and increase the popularity of Kendo in the Niagara region. I am very excited about the possibilities and hope you are too. Kendo is an important part of my life and I do my best to share my love of Kendo with my community. This grant can help our club make Kendo accessible to everyone in Niagara. I appreciate any help you can provide. If even half of the people doing Kendo in Canada were to vote for our idea every day of the campaign, I am sure we would have a very good chance of success. If you have any questions, please contact me directly at mark@kendoniagara.com or 289-241-3080 (cell). Thank you for your time - and your vote! Best Regards, Chief Instructor Hayakawa Kendo Club, Welland http://www.KendoNiagara.com P.S. If we all work together, then during the next Pepsi grant cycle, one or more Kendo clubs could also apply and get funding. Imagine the possibilities for Kendo in Canada!