This was taken from their website to let you know a bit more about the foundation and it's excellent work.
"The Jack Petchey Foundation funds a number of major programmes - all of which support young people throughout London and Essex.
Our flagship programme is the Jack Petchey Achievement Award Scheme. It is run in almost 2,000 schools, colleges and youth organisations throughout London and Essex and contributes millions of pounds each year. The scheme is a reward and recognition initiative which enables schools and youth organisations to celebrate the achievements of their young people as well as receive additional funding."
Reece joined Reikan already a 1st Dan and has fitted in perfectly. He has helped out at Gradings and with our Kyu Grade students. His younger sister Emma trains with us and is doing very well. Reece manages to train regularly at our club despite his commitments to local and county Cricket. We must thank his parents for ferrying Reece and Emma around and keeping up with their busy schedule. Congratulations Reece, a worthy recipient.
The Jack Petchey Crystal Awards ceremony was held at City Hall, London on Friday 2nd October to mark the 15th anniversary of the Jack Petchey Foundation and the milestone of having invested £100m to youth projects in London and Essex. In a special gesture to mark the occasion £225,000 of grant awards will be given on the night to 150 youth groups specially selected for their outstanding work. Reikan Karate were very priviledged to have been one of the recipients of the Crystal Award.
In July Brandon was awarded our Jack Petchey Outstanding Achievers Award for his dedication to the sport, even throughout his GCSE's. The way his confidence has grown and how he readily helps out the younger students. We were fortunate that Nikki a representative of The Jack Petchey Foundation was at the club and she agreed to give Brandon his certificate and badge. Congratulations Brandon, a deserving recipient.
Lawrence was our Outstanding Achievers Award winner from December 2014 and any of our previous winners could, attended the Harlow Clubs Celebration Event at Harlow Playhouse on Thursday 11th June 2015.
This event really is a Celebration of local youths, there were performing arts groups such as Rock School and dance companies to make the show feel really showcase how much talent Harlow has. In between the performances, previous recipients of the: "Jack Petchey Outstanding Achievers Award and/or Leaders Awards" were given a presentation medal in a case. A great keepsake in addition to the certificate and pin already awarded.
At this event it was the local MP for Harlow, Robert Halfon who had the pleasure of giving out the medals. Lawrence was accompanied by his proud parents Claire and Mark together with Sensei Paul.
Hopefully the whole family enjoyed the evening. Congratulations Lawrence, we are very proud of you as a club.
Olivia was an obvious choice with all the board and junior board members in agreement. She not only attends as regularly as her schooling and other sporting activities allow, but she trains hard and remains focussed which is evident in the progression she is making.
Not only is Lawrence progressing well with his karate, he is a polite and friendly student who is always well presented. He has a positive approach to his training, concentrates well and stays focused during lessons. Lawrence is very consistent in his training and this can mean he might get overlooked as the Sensei's time can easily be taken up with the students who struggle with either techniques or need a little more encouragement to stay focused. We all wanted to let Lawrence know, we see you and we appreciate the effort you make.
As you or may not know, we get grants from the Jack Petchey Foundation, which are spent with the input of JP Winners towards equipment that will benefit all of our students but are not essential to the running of our club. We recently purchased a new "Bob", the height is adjustable and can be used by students of all ages and abilities - and you all seem to enjoy giving him a good punch and a kick!
We have also purchased a "grappling bag" (not sure of the correct terminology at the time I wrote this, looks like a giant jellybaby to me!) which again ALL students really enjoy getting to grips with. Take down techniques can be safely practised using this piece of equipment, plus other grappling and sometimes more fun elements to keep the younger students engaged.
We also have a new junior punch/kick bag on a stand but this can also be used by older students as it's very sturdy. The photograph above shows just a little of how much fun the class had when we got all the new equipment out and let them loose on it (supervised closely of course).
Jakub was voted for by ALL of the board & junior board members at recent meeting. He is a very polite young man who had been with us for just over half a year. He speaks Polish and English and is now learning a martial art that uses a lot of Japanese vocabulary, which doesn't seem to phase him at all.
Jakub trains with his younger brother Maximillian as well as a few other family friends. He will always help his younger sibling and is very keen and focussed throughout the lessons. Jakub is well on his way to achieving his next grade - Yellow Belt (7th Kyu).
Jemima has been chosen as the Jack Petchey Outstanding Achievers Award recipient during a quick board meeting with unanimous votes from all attending. She is a popular student who only this year began competing. Apart from her success at the first competition in Clacton, she stayed behind at the BIKO in Cheshunt to see how her friend did after she was out of the category. This wasn't a friend JJ knew before, but someone she had started talking to while they waited for their kumite rounds.
Jemima is very supportive of the lower grades and younger students at the club and is hopefully someone the students can aspire to be like. Congratulations JJ you are a very deserving winner, we also hope that you like the new style club jacket that you were given at the End Of Year Party, you are the first student to wear one.
Kai was chosen as the Jack Petchey Outstanding Achievers Award recipient during a board meeting over a weekend, by the time Tuesday came we heard that he had badly injured his knee and would be out of action for a while. He is a keen and willing, cheerful student who has become an important part of the club since joining us a couple of years ago.
We were very happy that Kai agreed to 'hobble' to the dojo to accept his award, as he is sporting a lovely green cast/support on his knee, we decided on just a headshot. The whole club hopes that your knee injury is fully healed soon as we miss your smile (ok ok, you hate smiling for photo's but we miss seeing you) and you are back doing some gentle training soon.
Win Tone Kwok was chosen as our Jack Petchey Outstanding Achievers Award recipient for April 2013. She has been with us for a couple of years now and very rarely misses a training session. She is a likeable student who follows instruction well and tries to remain focussed throughout the lessons. Win Tone often attends extra weekend sessions when she is not busy with her Mandarin lessons as her Mum Sue (who also now trains) tries to juggle the childrens activities and keep a balance.
We have heard that Win Tone just recently received a Blue Peter Badge, it seems she is on the right path for succeeding in whatever she puts her mind to. We hope that you continue your karate journey with the same enthusiasm you have shown so far. Congratulations on your award, your shock was a total delight to see.