Donate Unused Gift Cards And Change a Life!

embed.gifDo you have gift cards sitting in a drawer or in your wallet that aren't being used?  You can turn these into donations to support Aikido Kenkyukai Santa Barbara!

Through Plastic Jungle, Inc, AKSB accepts gift cards from literally hundreds of vendors, including Barnes & Noble, Macy's, Kids R Us, etc.  Plastic Jungle resells your cards and then sends us the cash to add to our annual fundraising campaign!

Click on the "Donate" button in the right-hand column for more details.

More about Aikido Kenkyukai Santa Barbara and the 2010 Fundraising Campaign...






Our mission at Aikido Kenkyukai Santa Barbara is to pass down the true message of Aikido "The Art of Peace", and to nurture a better society by creating individuals of responsibility, compassion, judgement, and character.


4 Reasons to Give to Aikido Kenkyukai Santa Barbara



  1. The need exists & is substantial.  There is a gang violence problem in Santa Barbara.  Youth are drawn to gangs because they increase a sense of self-worth and promise higher status and peer acceptance, which is so important in adolescent development.  Aikido Kenkyukai Santa Barbara is a community, rather than just a "place to work out."  Every member of our dojo community adds value to our organization and therefore gains a sense of self worth.  Also progress in the art is publicly recognized through testing and promotion in rank, for example.  This contributes further to the feeling of self esteem and self worth. 

  1. Return on your investment.  Aikido Kenkyukai Santa Barbara provides self esteem, status, and peer acceptance to youth, along with alternative coping mechanisms for conflict, whether it be physical conflict, verbal conflict, emotional conflict.  In the big picture, supporting Aikido Kenkyukai Santa Barbara means investing in a more peaceful and safe Santa Barbara.
  2. Giving feels good.  Contribution is one of the core values we teach our young people. It's the only way we can truly manifest our vision.
  3. Our young people deserve your support.  There's a saying in Japan - "Everyone is born good."  We believe this at Aikido Kenkyukai Santa Barbara.  EVERY CHILD is born good and therefore deserves a peaceful, happy, and safe childhood.

 



    There is no better time than now to invest in our community’s future and our children. We look forward to the results we create together in the years to come.

    With gratitude,

    Lia Suzuki
    Executive Director & Head Instructor

    Our History...
    Aikido Kenkyukai Santa Barbara was founded in 1999 by Lia Suzuki.

    In the summer of 2007, we lost our training space on lower State Street due to an extreme rent increase. After regrouping and reorganizing, our aduts’ class came together and resumed training in a temporary space. The kids’ class reconvened a full year later, refusing to give up hope for continued study under Suzuki Sensei.

    Now, we’re a 501(c)(3) California nonprofit public benefit corporation, training at the Santa Barbara Buddhist Temple. We’re excited and grateful to be able to be back training weekly. Our future goals are to once again have our own dedicated training space, take field trips to Japan, and to hold events to benefit the community through this fantastic art that we love called Aikido - the Art of Peace.

Campaign Progress
$0.00 raised towards $1,000.00 goal!
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About the Organization

Aikido Kenkyukai Santa Barbara
Po Box 351
Santa Barbara, CA 93102
http://www.aksb.org

Contact: Lia Suzuki

Enriching society through the practice of Aikido - The Art of Peace.