Club members give charity a real class boost
ASHINGTON Karate Club held a fun class for members using equipment purchased with funds from the Ashington Leisure Partnership’s John Talbot Funding and Northumberland County Council’s Community Chest Scheme.
The class also served as a fundraiser for the KUGB (Karate Union of Great Britain)’s charity for 20192020, the Zachary Geddis Break the Silence Trust.
The club committee decided to donate £2 for every club member who joined in the various activities throughout the class.
In total, this came to £90. The club also received donation of £5 from Nick Sandeman, who was unable to make the class.
The committee decided to then round this total up to £100 and club chairwoman Lynn Gibson presented the cheque to senior club instructors Sensei Jill Kelly and Sensei Trish Bruce, who will pass it on to the charity.
Zachary Geddis was only 20 when he died on March 18 2017 in his university accommodation halls whie attending the University of the Arts in London to study Fashion Illustration.
He was a KUGB Northern Ireland competitor and admired and respected by those who knew him.
His sister Yasmin made a promise his name would live on and she started the Break the Silence Trust with the aim of changing the mental health system, bringing more attention to the area of mental illness and decreasing the stigma surrounding suicide.
Ashington Karate Club trains on Saturday mornings at Ashington Leisure Centre (10.00-11.30) and on Thursday evenings at Josephine Butler Campus (6.00-7.00).
More information is available by contacting Sensei Jill Kelly on 07930 324556, or by visiting the club website www.ashingtonshotokankarate. co.uk.