Welcome to
GRAPPLING FOR GIFTS
12/16/23
Wrapped up another year of doing what we love to do. 2023 saw us bring in a little more than $7,000 for the kids. Even got to make a nice in-person drop off at the CHOI. Probably about 1/3 of what will get to them. The rest will be sent to the hospital directly. I can't thank everyone enough who makes this possible. Thanks to everyone who came to the Catalina Submission Mixer and Michael Haddan of Bloomington Team 1 for having me over for a seminar. Also huge thanks to Dan Altavilla of Bushkill Blades and the other bladesmiths that always create a raffle and donate directly to me. These are people I don't personally know yet here we are on our third year doing this and making kids happy. "There are no small things when we work together."
11/11/23
This is something I've wanted to do for a LONG time. A big seminar where we can raise some money, meet new people, share the art we love, and just have a fun, positive time. So I give you... the Catalina Submission Mixer! So happy that jiujitsu has made it possible to do things like this. The people I've met on this martial arts journey are unmatched in their selflessness. We will have 4 high level black belts come in and share their knowledge with you! This is a first for me to organize but I feel some real positive momentum building! Can't wait!
8/20/23
We not only sponsored a hole this year but we manned one too! This was for the Johnny Mac Golfplooza! Named after a friend and ran by a friend. This is an event for Lymphoma Is A Loser. A great charity! Me and my girls pulling Plink duty on hole 17!
7/17/23
Another Piazza Ranch Fundraiser!
8/7/23 from 5-8pm! Get the whole family out adn have some awesome food and help with an awesome cause!
UPDATE: what a fun time and such a success!
12/21/22
Another awesome lunch hour drop off! I took Catalina, Victor, and my parents today to drop off a bag full of mini-ipads and cases to the Child Life Department. These new ipads will help them in the treatment of the kids and also allow them to let the kids easily communicate with their families! We were happy to take a portion of this years donations and make that happen for them! So aweswome! The rest of the donations will be good old fashioned toys, games, and supplies that they have specifically requested! 2022 has been a great year and I am thankful I am able to help such a great place, filled with great kids even in the smallest way.
11/17/22 and 11/20/2022
I had a great time teaching jiujitsu to multiple law enforcement folks tonight! We had officers from Tazewell, Peoria, and Woodford Counties. Plus local Pekin PD and couple Security Officers from the National Guard base! It was a fun couple hours and as always this was a charity seminar! 100% of donations will go to Grappling For Gifts and that will get toys in hands at the Children’s Hospital of Illinois!
Big thanks to Obed, Blaine, Nate, and Blake for coming in to help out! PAC family!
11/12/22
Another great GFG charity seminar! Huge thanks to Keith Steinacher of Strategic BJJ for coming to town and being a great example of someone using jiujitsu for the greater good! He showed some great stuff and we all had a blast! Thanks to everyone who came and donated! We are making more and more smiles happen!
9/19/22
GFG sponsored a hole at the annual Johnny Mac Golf-Palooza again this year! Check out the photos link above to see some great selfies that were taken with our sign!
8/24/22
Kicking off 2022 with some pizza! please come join us at the pizza ranch in Morton on 8/8/22 from 5-8pm!
5/12/22
New banks accounts are now official! So now when you donate you will be using some form of Grappling For Gifts via PayPal, Venmo, etc. Links on the donate page have been updated!
4/14/22
I finally decided to at GFG to Instagram. So please follow our page for all the latest and greatest! AND PLEASE SHARE! I just grabbed a handful of past photos to put in there for now.
3/18/22
I had a great talk with Keith McKeever this afternoon. Keith started Mission309 to showcase positive stories in Central Illinois. I was honored to talk to him about the charity! Please check it out!
Youtube: https://youtu.be/IW-f3njjqaQ
Blog Article: https://www.keithmckeever.co/blog/grappling-for-gifts
Mission309 Page: https://www.keithmckeever.co/mission-309
He also hosts the Battle Buddy podcast that highlights veterans and their stories!