Every day, people in our community face personal and social crises. Violence. Stress. Lack of community. Lack of information and training needed for a sense of safety and confidence. Lack of quality, accessible and inclusive spaces to cultivate physical and mental well-being.

 

We, the team at Tuff Love Fitness, our partners and supporters like you confront tough problems like these and we fight. We fight to make the lives of people in our community better by improving their wellness, safety, community engagement and social relationships. We fight because even though our community has a lot to celebrate, there is still plenty of work to be done. One in 4 women and 1 in 7 men will experience physical violence during their lifetimes, numbers that have only increased during the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

When we’re united we can help solve these issues. Over the last year, we partnered with local leaders and groups as part of a multi-racial and multi-cultural collective to address the uptick in violence against the Asian communities. We offered monthly free online self-defense workshops to women near and far. We operated an inclusive and safe gym for our community. We provided accessible and affordable tools for individuals and communities to learn, grow and stay safe.

 

HOW WE FIGHT 

The past year has been a busy one for Tuff Love Fitness, as we worked towards our mission of teaching martial arts, self-defense and fitness in a manner that promotes personal wellness, community responsibility and social justice. Here are some highlights from 2021: 

 

• After many years of serving the community without nonprofit status, in 2021 we became fully incorporated as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit! 

• We held two outdoor AAPI safety workshops in partnership with Protect Oakland Chinatown

• We partnered with Compassion in Oakland to offer a safety workshop in Oakland Chinatown for AAPI elders

• We partnered with AAPI Women Lead to host a benefit self-defense workshop with all proceeds benefiting refugee and climate organizations 

• We created online self-defense content for the Women’s March 

• We held monthly free online self-defense workshops for women, girls and youth

• We held online youth self-defense classes during the first summer of the pandemic

• We held two eight-week, free, all-genders self-defense workshops in collaboration with Compassion in Oakland

• We partnered with Queer Alliance Resource Center to host a self-defense workshop for LGBTQ+ students at UC Berkeley 

• We offered introductory online classes in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and kickboxing when gyms could not be open

• We held weekly online women’s jiu-jitsu training through our Sweaty Betties program

• Sweaty Betties partnered with Girls In Gis to launch “United She Stands,” a monthly online training featuring prominent female jiu-jitsu instructors from around the world

• We assumed management of Four Elements Fitness, an inclusive non-profit martial arts and fitness gym in Oakland, CA, and reopened our doors in June!  

 

Despite all its challenges, with your help 2021 has been a year of powerful transformation and action for us. We can’t wait to see what we can achieve together in 2022 and beyond! 

 

JOIN THE FIGHT 

We are holding our year-end fundraising drive from November 30-December 31. You can help individuals access self-defense, martial arts and fitness programs and support health and safety in our communities. Below are some ways to help: 

 

DONATE

All donations are 100% secure and tax-deductible. Ongoing monthly donations are the most helpful for allowing us to continue our mission. Any amount is appreciated! You can change or cancel your gift at any time. Here’s what your monthly support can do over the course of a year: 

 

• $10 per month: funds one month of free unlimited training at Four Elements Fitness for a student in need

• $20 per month: purchases two sets of pads for striking practice

• $35 per month: Covers half the total expenses for an outdoor AAPI safety training

• $50 per month: Covers two hours of outdoor self-defense instruction for a nonprofit or educational group

• $100 per month:  Covers all expenses for four months of free online self-defense classes for women and girls

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EMPLOYER MATCHING

Many companies encourage employees to donate to their favorite charities by matching their contributions. This means that your donation to Tuff Love could be doubled, or even tripled! Some employers even extend these policies to retirees or spouses of employees. Contact your HR Department to find out if your employer will match your donation!

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JOIN US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

We want to hear why you fight! Post a photo or 1-minute video on your social media and tag us @tuffloveseldfense, @fourelementsfitness and @sweatybettiesbjj with the hashtag #whywefight. 

 

SHARE OUR CAMPAIGN 

Share our campaign with your community! Tell a friend, share our posts on social media, write a personalized message about what our organization means to you. We need your help to get the word out; we can’t do this without you!

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Tuff Love Fitness, Inc. is a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization and therefore donations are tax deductible to the full extent of the law.

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Our federal tax ID number is 85-1005571.

r donation!

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