As we come to the end of the first month of the New Year, Chester and I have had a chance to take a look back at our achievements in 2022.
For the last 11 years El Toro NonProfit has raised money for children in sports, families in need and community projects. “Our Children. Our Veterans. Our Community.” As a military family, when we started our fundraising efforts, our primary focus was disabled veterans and their families, because we had first hand knowledge of the struggle of disabled veterans and their families. However, our scope has never been limited and over these years has grown to include a diverse and broad spectrum of our community.
For those of you who have been with us since 2011, you know our fundraising goals originally targeted the sport of Judo, in part due to El Toro Judo Club status in our nonprofit, but in the last years our outreach has broaden to include other sports. As our student/athletes’ athleticism improves, they have branched out trying other sports. Judo, track, golf, volleyball, softball, football, wrestling and ice hockey are all sports some of our student/athletes have added to their schedules.
With your help, the funds we raised have not only funded year-round class scholarships for three student/athletes, provided transportation, trip expenses and competition fees for competing students, but allowed us to donate to fundraisers concerning autism, breast cancer, the Wounded Warriors Program, library books drive, a swim challenge, a community development project and even a rescue dog shelter. The economy is recovering from the damage the pandemic created, but the pinch of the higher cost of living has affected most families we know and most industries we deal with.
We will continue, with your help, to do our part to help as many student/athletes realize their goals. We found in recent years that helping student/athletes achieve their goals are not always limited to funding. Chester spent time attending events of his two-and three-sport student/athletes. He attended scholastic award ceremonies, football playoffs and the football training camp and we were treated recently to our first ice hockey match to support his young judo student/athlete, who competed at the Presidents Cup in Texas last November, when her hockey team played a mini-match during a recent Carolina Hurricanes game.
“Doing our part” has also meant pre-match or post-match phone calls from a former student/athlete most of you are familiar with – Liana Mutia. Liana continues to stay in touch with “Sensei Evans” since she entered the USA Judo Program at USA Judo Training Center in Colorado in 2018. 2021 was a breakout year for Liana who competed in the Paralympics in Tokyo and the road to France-2024 continues as she won gold last year at the ISBA Pan Am Games. Liana also medaled gold at the IBSA World Games, the first gold medal for a USA woman in eleven years. She is today in Portugal for another international competition as she continues her journey for a second Olympics in Paris in 2024.
This is what we do. Support student/athletes and their families any way we can. Your donations make it possible to do this good work and we hope you know how grateful we are. Watch this space for updates on the student/athletes and programs in our sites for 2023 and on the fundraising events planned for a Spring Bash in June and our annual Fall Bash in October. It’s goes without saying - 2023 is going to be another standout year, thanks to all of you.
Elizabeth Torres Evans
El Toro NonProfit
Photo Credits: USA Judo & El Toro Judo Club