Força's Community Outreach Program

Many of you have noticed, we’re sure, that Força has experienced some rapid membership growth in the last few months. We’re making the best use of our increasingly cramped space, but coaches and students alike are looking forward to a more expansive Força facility come April 16 when we celebrate the grand opening of our new location.

As we grow, one word that has become increasingly important to our mission is “community.” While Força has always been a community-centric organization, our new facility will allow us to expand that focus as well. One of the most important concepts of a good martial arts program is the development of respect and consideration for others, and Força’s non-profit programs are central to that concept.

Força’s Community Outreach Program, the parent organization for all three of our non-profit programs, has also been growing in scope and size. The program’s mission is to be a force of good for the entire River Valley, which has shown us such support over the years. All three of our non-profit programs – including Project Warrior, RPB Boxing Club, and Força Community Martial Arts – are aimed at sharing the benefits of martial arts training with people in our community who might otherwise never have opportunity to experience those benefits.

Project Warrior meets every Tuesday & Thursday at 6pm and provides military, law enforcement, and firefighting personnel free access to the gym and, perhaps more importantly, a community of peers to practice grappling and rolling techniques. Headed by Chris Housenick, an Army vet and MMA coach, Project Warrior offers that sense of brotherhood and sisterhood that is so central to military and defense personnel yet so often missing from civilian life.  After our relocation in April this program will be offered every Tuesday and Thursday at 6:15pm.

RPD Boxing Club offers free weekly boxing lessons and workouts for anyone interested in learning boxing techniques. The Boxing Club, led by retired Russellville Police Sergeant John Serette, has thrived as an essential element of our community outreach program since it moved to Força in 2012. The club promotes confidence and discipline and is primarily geared toward disadvantaged youth and teens in the River Valley, but anyone from the community is welcome to participate.  Currently practices are held every Tuesday and Thursday at 4:45 for ages 8-34.

Força Community Martial Arts is the latest addition to the Community Outreach Program, one that we are very excited about. It’s truly a community effort as Força has partnered with local health organizations to be a key element of the organizations’ treatment programs by providing gear and MMA training to referred local youth. FCMA promises to be a program that will see rapid growth as we move into this next phase of our Força family.

We are excited about the direction Força’s Community Outreach Program is taking and invite anyone who is interested in knowing more to contact us or stop by the gym. Or better yet, learn more at the grand opening of our new location, 900 West E Street, on April 16, where Força’s Community Outreach program will be central to the celebration. Project Warrior representatives will be on site selling T-shirts, local sushi restaurant Umami will be catering plate lunches and licensed massage therapist Robert Regnier offering professional massages for non-profit donations, and the RPD Boxing Club will be staging a demonstration that is sure to knock you out. And that’s just the non-profit portion of the plans! It promises to be a fun day. Hope to see you there!