Recent Events
At the Center for Humane Living, our instructors and students are actively engaged in the community. Collaborating with other community outreach programs in the Phoenix metropolitan area, our members help support common causes with programs such as I-HELP, UMOM Events, and Feed My Starving Children events. In addition to these charitable events, we regularly participate in clean-up events, fundraising projects to assist in funding scholarships to Camp Chaos, and demonstrations at local events to raise awareness about our mission.
Camp Chaos 2023
Welcome back Camp Chaos! After a 3-year break, CHL’s Annual Camp Chaos returned under the leadership of Red Belt Michael Zimmerling. Over the weekend of August 4th-6th, CHL members ventured out to the YMCA Triangle Y camp in Oracle, AZ for an amazing weekend of martial arts, and interaction with fellow campers. During camp, we all learned from each other honing in on improving our physical abilities thru a mix of training sessions, outdoor activities, and education/developmental sessions focusing on the topic of “Teaching and Learning”. The variety of activities during camp made this experience dynamic and enjoyable, allowing everyone to create lasting memories.
I-HELP Event:
June 11, 2023
Project organized by: Sensei Tanner Orenstein
Partnered with the I-HELP program, Sensei Tanner and a group of CHL members helped to provide and serve a warm and nutritious meal on Sunday, June 11th to help feed the needy in our community.
In addition to this, the group also prepared over 300 bagged lunches for distribution at the Tempe Community Action Agency Food Pantry; This donation alone totaled 437 pounds of food that was immediately put to use.
Annual Clothing Drive
Event Organized and Managed by:
Sensei Karla Zych
The Annual Clothing Drive is our largest non-martial arts education-based community initiative. This event collects and distributes clothing and shoe donations to help people in the Phoenix community. What seems to be a simple idea, is quite challenging (in positive ways) to execute as our CHL community has shown up in BIG the past few years exceeding ever growing goals for donations and distribution.
Collecting Clothing Donations: many individuals, family, friends, co-workers, etc. donate gently used or new clothing items. These donations include clothing for all ages and sizes, such as shirts, pants, dresses, jackets, and shoes.
Clothing Drive Participation: during the Clothing Drive event, CHL members foster a sense of community and shared purpose as the collected clothing is distributed to a diverse range of community members and families who may be experiencing challenging circumstances. Everyone involved plays an important role in organizing, sorting, distributing and meeting people with compassionate smiles.
2023 CHL Family Graduates: WE are PROUD!
Feed My Starving Children Event: May 27th, 2023
Project organized by Meghana Belthur
Feed My Starving Children is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing nutritious meals to children and families in need around the world. Working as a team, our volunteers measured and packed a specifically formulated nutrient based meal for children that can be shipped and distributed to partner organizations across the world.
BUNCO!
We brought our friends and family for a crazy night of laughter and excitement as people did not know what they were really doing! The joys of playing the crazy dice game of Bunco at CHL! On June 16th, we returned back to our long time and good time fundraising event!
Car Wash! Raising Funds for 2023 Camp Chaos
June 3rd, 2023
UMOM Walk to End Homelessness:
Project organized by Gloria Wells
CHL Blood Drive: October 23, 2022
Organized by: Bernice Irudaya
As many of you know, on October 23rd, the Center for Humane Living had its first blood drive that I hosted as a part of my Red Belt Project. The turnout was awesome, with both members of the community outside of CHL and our own CHL family coming to participate or lend a hand. I think blood drives are amazing opportunities for the public, hence why I decided for this to be my project. It is quite beautiful to think that you could be giving somebody the chance to live at least another day, and a chance for their families and friends too. You never know how your donation is going to impact somebody’s life and that’s what makes donating blood such an amazing thing. Regular members of society, non-medical professionals, even young adults, are able to change something about their surroundings. It might seem insignificant just sitting in a chair for an hour or so, but the scenario reminds me a lot of the Zen story about the starfish.
In the story, a little boy notices a bunch of starfish washed up on the shore of a beach. He begins to pick them up, one by one, and putting them back in the ocean. Then a man comes up to him and asks him, “What are you doing? There’s still hundreds of other starfish out here, it doesn’t matter.” But then the boy picked up yet another starfish, put it back in the ocean, turned to the man, and said,” it mattered to that one.” So, no matter if you donated once or fifty times in your life, you still impacted somebody for the better, which is a great thing in itself. So, with that, I would like to thank all of you that helped out with either CHL’s Blood drive or any other blood drive - thank you for impacting somebody’s life for the better.