The Joni's Angels Martial Arts Scholarship Program: More Than Just Kicks and Punches🥋

Every child deserves a safe space to grow, learn, and dream - but for many youth living in poverty, after-school programs and mentorship opportunities are simply out of reach. That's why our Joni's Angels Martial Arts Scholarship Program pays for poverty-level youth to attend great martial arts schools, but we need your help to give them a fighting chance.

At Joni's Angels, we believe that martial arts is about much more than self-defense. It's a pathway to confidence, self control, and—most importantly—a future full of promise and hope. Training in martial arts at a great martial arts school provides poverty-level youth with a fun and safe way to stay off of the streets and out of trouble, and training under a quality Instructor who is also a great mentor and role model helps young people develop the confidence they need to resist peer pressure and the character traits they need to become happy, well-adjusted and successful adults. Our mission is to provide young people living in poverty with the training and guidance that they need to overcome the challenges and circumstances that confront them while giving them a safe and fun place to learn and grow. We do this through our Joni's Angels Martial Arts Scholarship Program - a program that pays for poverty-level youth students, ages 6-17, to attend a full year of great martial arts training at no expense to themselves or their families - but we need your help to make it all happen. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to Joni's Angels today.

Through our Guardians Network, we partner with select martial arts schools that go above and beyond. We don't just pay for classes; we carefully choose dojos and instructors who act as positive role models, teaching discipline, respect, and resilience. We carefully vet every martial arts school that serves as an outlet for our program before we invite them to become one of our Guardians Network Member Schools. Once we are satisfied that they meet our high standards and will provide great mentors and role models for the young people that we fund through our program, we invite them to join our Guardians Network and we pay for qualifying youth students to attend their classes.

How Your Gift Makes an Impact:
Your contribution directly covers the cost of a full year of martial arts training, allowing a local child in need to train, belong, and thrive alongside their peers.

$5 – Sponsors 30 minutes (1/2 hour) of great martial arts training.
$50 – Outfits a student with a new uniform and belt.
$100 – Sponsors one month of martial arts training and mentorship.
$500 – Covers three months of classes, plus tournament registration fees and essential safety gear.
$2,400 – Fully sponsors one youth to train, learn, and grow for an entire year. This includes uniforms, belt testing and promotions, required tournament registration fees and essential safety gear. Our scholarships are designed to ensure that all necessary expenses are paid, so that no financial strain is placed on the families of the young people that we fund through our program.

I WAS one of the young people that our program is designed to help. Martial arts taught me that I can overcome anything if I just keep trying. My instructors gave me the confidence to believe in myself and rise above my circumstances. Thanks to them, I avoided gangs, drugs and peer pressure. Martial arts training is what saved me from the streets and helped me become the person that I am today. " — Sifu Charlie Hicks / C.O.O.@ Joni's Angels

Will you become a hero for a child in need today? Every dollar brings us one step closer to changing a young life and providing a brighter future for the young people that we fund through our program.

Donate today

*The money raised through this Givebutter fundraising page goes directly to support the Joni's Angels Martial Arts Scholarship Program. Our Directors are all unpaid volunteers, so 100% of your donation goes directly to support the program. We are a 501c3 nonprofit, so your contributions are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.

Help Empower Poverty-Level Youth and Their Families - Give to Joni's Angels