Art With Heart June 6, 2010

CHICAGO – (May 7, 2010) – Thousand Waves Martial Arts & Self-Defense Center, NFP, is celebrating its 25th anniversary year with a powerful martial arts performance called “Art with Heart” on June 6, 2010, from 2:30 to 4:00 PM. The free public program will feature Thousand Waves’ students and teachers demonstrating a wide variety of martial skills, from board breaking to traditional Japanese weapons to musical forms. The event will take place at the Drucker Center, 1535 N. Dayton, in Chicago.

“We wanted this performance to be special-- a reflection of mental and physical empowerment from diverse talent developed within our community over our 25 year history. We’re excited to be able to engage with people unfamiliar with Thousand Waves, and martial arts in general, with the performance. We hope visitors will be inspired to take on their own paths of self-improvement,” says Thousand Waves co-founder Nancy Lanoue.

The Art with Heart performance is the capstone of a broader, week-long annual fundraising event for Thousand Waves called Spirit Challenge, during which the Center’s members will take on various physical endurance challenges to raise money in support of the Center’s non-profit mission. For 25 years, Thousand Waves Martial Arts & Self-Defense Center, NFP has been fostering fitness, healing, empowerment and peacemaking through violence prevention, self-defense and traditional martial arts programs for adults and children of all ages. Thousand Waves prides itself in not turning people away because of a lack of ability to pay-- over its 25 year history, the organization has awarded karate and self-defense program scholarships to individuals and organizations worth in excess of $225,000.

-###-

ABOUT THOUSAND WAVES MARTIAL ARTS & SELF-DEFENSE CENTER, NFP:
Thousand Waves Martial Arts & Self-Defense Center, NFP, is a 501(c) non-profit educational institution located in Chicago. Key programs include traditional martial arts for adults, teens and children; free self-defense seminars serving over 400 people annually; Meditations on Violence, an ongoing public lecture series with activists in the struggle to reduce global violence; and a volunteer-led Performance Team that gives free educational and entertaining martial arts presentations for faith-based organizations, schools and community centers. The Thousand Waves Scholarship Fund gives grants totaling $1500/month to 25-30 individuals to participate in martial arts and self-defense programs. Funds are also used to support non-profits and schools that want to sponsor a program for their clients, but have no training budget. For more information, please visit www.thousandwaves.org