Richard Poage Scholarship Fund
Donation protected
Hello, everyone,
My name is Noah Legel, and I am one of Sensei Poage's friends, and one of his senior students at Peaceful Warrior Martial Arts and Healing Center in Scottsdale, AZ. His partner, Tiffany Richards, has set up a scholarship fund in his memory to be used to send qualifying students to Okinawa, where karate originated, so that they can train there, and experience the culture and atmosphere. Upon withdrawing the funds raised here, I will be writing a check for the full amount to be deposited directly into the scholarship fund. Thank you!
UPDATE: With Sensei Richard Poage's passing, the money we have raised here will largely not be needed for medical costs. What we would like to do with the remainder, if our donors are willing, is to put it into a newly formed scholarship fund--The Richard M. Poage Okinawan Karate Scholarship Fund. This fund is intended to carry on Sensei Poage's legacy of teaching and spreading Okinawan karate by sending qualifying students to the birthplace of karate to experience the culture, and train with masters there. He thought it was important for karateka to get that experience, and he would love to have the ability to send students to Okinawa, so we feel this is a fitting tribute to his memory.
All that said, we understand that those who have donated to this fundraiser did so with the intention of assisting with medical costs. Now that this isn't the case, we completely understand that some of you may wish to have your money refunded. That is absolutely fair, and if you request a refund we will gladly give it to you. If you do want your donation to go toward sending students to Okinawa in Sensei Poage's memory, however, we greatly appreciate it. Thank you, all, for all of the love and support you have shown Richard, his family, and his dojo family through these past couple of months!
ORIGINAL STORY:
Many people know Richard Poage as the co-creator of the weekly YouTube video series, Waza Wednesday , and as the co-owner of Peaceful Warrior Martial Arts. For the past couple of months he has been plagued by migraine headaches. Despite that, he has toughed it out and continued to teach at the dojo every day, mentor his students, and do his best to promote the martial arts. Unfortunately, on the way back from a martial arts event in San Diego on Sunday, December 3rd, 2017, he started experiencing extreme pain, had a seizure, and lost consciousness, and was rushed to the hospital in El Centro, CA. There, a CT scan determined that he has a large mass on the right side of his brain, which would have put anyone else in the hospital months ago. Due to the size of the mass and severity of the pressure on his brain, he had to then be airlifted to UC San Diego Health's neurosurgery ICU for further testing and emergency surgery.
It has been a huge shock to all of us who know and love him, as you never expect a healthy 32 year old, who does martial arts for a living, and never has to go to the doctor, to have such a severe health issue arise out of the blue. Unfortunately, as a young, healthy, self-employed man, he does not have health insurance, but we aren't letting this stop us from getting him the best treatment needed. We deeply appreciate any donation, no matter how small, to help chip away at the medical expenses, so that his family can focus on making him better, and not worry about how they are going to find the money to pay for it. He is and always has been a fighter, but he really needs people to to help fight alongside him right now.
My name is Noah Legel, and I am one of Sensei Poage's friends, and one of his senior students at Peaceful Warrior Martial Arts and Healing Center in Scottsdale, AZ. His partner, Tiffany Richards, has set up a scholarship fund in his memory to be used to send qualifying students to Okinawa, where karate originated, so that they can train there, and experience the culture and atmosphere. Upon withdrawing the funds raised here, I will be writing a check for the full amount to be deposited directly into the scholarship fund. Thank you!
UPDATE: With Sensei Richard Poage's passing, the money we have raised here will largely not be needed for medical costs. What we would like to do with the remainder, if our donors are willing, is to put it into a newly formed scholarship fund--The Richard M. Poage Okinawan Karate Scholarship Fund. This fund is intended to carry on Sensei Poage's legacy of teaching and spreading Okinawan karate by sending qualifying students to the birthplace of karate to experience the culture, and train with masters there. He thought it was important for karateka to get that experience, and he would love to have the ability to send students to Okinawa, so we feel this is a fitting tribute to his memory.
All that said, we understand that those who have donated to this fundraiser did so with the intention of assisting with medical costs. Now that this isn't the case, we completely understand that some of you may wish to have your money refunded. That is absolutely fair, and if you request a refund we will gladly give it to you. If you do want your donation to go toward sending students to Okinawa in Sensei Poage's memory, however, we greatly appreciate it. Thank you, all, for all of the love and support you have shown Richard, his family, and his dojo family through these past couple of months!
ORIGINAL STORY:
Many people know Richard Poage as the co-creator of the weekly YouTube video series, Waza Wednesday , and as the co-owner of Peaceful Warrior Martial Arts. For the past couple of months he has been plagued by migraine headaches. Despite that, he has toughed it out and continued to teach at the dojo every day, mentor his students, and do his best to promote the martial arts. Unfortunately, on the way back from a martial arts event in San Diego on Sunday, December 3rd, 2017, he started experiencing extreme pain, had a seizure, and lost consciousness, and was rushed to the hospital in El Centro, CA. There, a CT scan determined that he has a large mass on the right side of his brain, which would have put anyone else in the hospital months ago. Due to the size of the mass and severity of the pressure on his brain, he had to then be airlifted to UC San Diego Health's neurosurgery ICU for further testing and emergency surgery.
It has been a huge shock to all of us who know and love him, as you never expect a healthy 32 year old, who does martial arts for a living, and never has to go to the doctor, to have such a severe health issue arise out of the blue. Unfortunately, as a young, healthy, self-employed man, he does not have health insurance, but we aren't letting this stop us from getting him the best treatment needed. We deeply appreciate any donation, no matter how small, to help chip away at the medical expenses, so that his family can focus on making him better, and not worry about how they are going to find the money to pay for it. He is and always has been a fighter, but he really needs people to to help fight alongside him right now.
Organizer
Noah Legel
Organizer
Phoenix, AZ
