Alabama Buildvention

Last year at the alabama house building convention, I cut my thumb, got my hands covered by brick dust, paint and polyurethane, and my life changed completely. I met Tom Callos, and I was surrounded by a community of people who had enough drive and virtuous energy to build an entire house in three days. I literally had several epiphanies a day, and I sometimes think that that trip may have actually shaped my brain to make me a better and more ethical person. So, yeah, I’m going back. In fact, I think its fair to say that no power in the universe can stop me. Now most of you know that I LOVE martial arts. It is my passion and I even work there, because that is what I want to do when I grow up. I attend class for four and a half (sometimes five) hours a day, four days a week. It is my passion it is who I am. Now in the martial arts community, there’s a guy named Tom Callos. Tom has been living the martial arts dream, training, running many different schools--for over forty years, and he is now an advisor on how to run your school ethically, as well as an advocate for all the good stuff martial arts stands for, dietary self defense, philanthropy, community engagement, leadership training bully prevention and countless other issues that are all what martial arts is all about. Once a year, Tom and the members of the group of martial arts teachers he has founded go down to the impoverished country of Greensboro Alabama, to build an entire house in three days. This time, we are going down to build a house for an impoverished cancer survivor. Her name is Mrs. Latonia Williams, and she is still recovering from stage three lung cancer. While she was undergoing treatment, She lost her job, and, without a source of revenue, she was unable to keep her house and she now has to live in her mothers trailer.  I heard about this, and immediately started to save money for a plane ticket. I raised my five hundred dollars, and now it is time for me to reach out to my social circle. You are my teachers, my friends, and my family. I am calling on YOU to help me with this, I am reaching out to those who can help me, help all of us who are going down there to give Mrs. Williams a home. The money we raise goes strictly to building materials, we don’t pay for hotels we sleep in a gym on the floor, we buy our own food, and we work all day long. I am not asking for a massive donation, I am asking for the price of a week or two’s cups of coffee. Any sacrafice is appreciated, and any sacrafdice will help us build Mrs. Williams a new home. Last year we raised five hundred dollars, and this year i am hoping we can equal, if not exceed that goal.

If you’re interested, here are two blogposts I have written on this:

http://masteryteam.blogspot.com/2014/03/alabamaagain-owen-mahoney-32-38really.html

http://masteryteam.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-spectacular-scar.html

Here is a site with info about the event:

http://alabama.flavors.me/#590/custom_plain(there is a link to donate here, but the site I set up is quicker and easier)