Master Lee’s Talium Taekwondo is a Taekwondo dojang with branches in Tustin, Irvine, and Temple City. Its sparring and poomsae teams compete each year at the local and national levels. Earlier this year, the students won award after award at the American Taekwondo United competition in Atlanta, Georgia. However, the students of this dojang are taught not only in the forms and kicks of Taekwondo, but also in the spirit of Taekwondo. As Talium’s mantra goes, Taekwondo, really, is about an “honest mind, loving heart, and strength in the body.” 

Embodying this Talium spirit of Taekwondo, the students organized an important fundraiser this year for the Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) called HealthKick. HealthKick had already been an annual event hosted by Talium students for over a decade. Like many fundraising efforts, it was forced into hiatus with the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the world and Orange County began to move forward from that turbulent period, this generation of Talium students was eager to resume Talium’s signature giving back to the community. 

For three months spanning from August to November, the students held meetings every week to brainstorm how they could raise the most money possible. In the end, they decided to have two separate parts for HealthKick. 

The first part involved entreating donations from individuals and companies. People from all areas of life and industry chipped in, moved by the cause. As far as business sponsorships go, the students were able to secure a bonus fundraiser with the Chipotle at Westpark Plaza. For a limited time, 25% of the Chipotle event sales were donated to HealthKick. 

The second part was the actual HealthKick event itself. Endorsed by mayoral candidate Tammy Kim, the event was able to easily secure a location at Bill Barber Memorial Park. Each of the students brought a variety of clothes, toys, and books to donate to the cause. These were sold during the event in a bazaar-like fashion, alongside snacks and food. The event itself commenced with an impressive poomsae performance by the students. That was followed by a student showcase of Haidong Gumdo, a Korean martial art involving movements of the sword. Many families with smaller children attended the event, and so the second half of the event was devoted to fun games geared toward a younger age group. It is without a doubt that the children had a wonderful time breaking wooden boards, putting their strength to the test during the tug-of-war, and winning prizes by participating in the raffle.

In the end, the students amassed a total of almost $14,314. This will go directly toward helping children in need of medical assistance at CHOC. Talium itself has a personal relationship with CHOC; in a moving speech, one of the students recounted when he almost lost the tips of two of his fingers. It was thanks to the sure and speedy efforts of CHOC that he recovered, fingers intact. The students must be proud, knowing that their hard efforts will help many more kids in the future.