How Evolve Helps Caring For Cambodia During The Holiday Season

ONEchampionship.com

Christmas may be over, but Evolve is still in the holiday spirit.

The Singapore-based gym recently held its annual collection drive to benefit Caring for Cambodia (CFC).

For the past several weeks, Evolve staff members and gym-goers have been donating basic items and everyday necessities like clothes, toothbrushes, and medical supplies to the Siem Reap-based non-profit organization, whose aim is to provide free education for over 6,600 impoverished children in 21 schools in Cambodia.

“This is actually part of our Evolve Community Outreach Program,” explains Amir Khan, former ONE Lightweight World Title challenger and Evolve Competition Team member.

“As athletes and instructors, we raise awareness, we inform all of our students, and we put a bucket at each [Evolve] location and they can donate medical and school supplies for Caring for Cambodia.”

This is the third year Evolve has run the collection drive, and it continues to get bigger and bigger.

When the program was first introduced in 2016, it was met with tremendous success.

However, with a bucket at each of the gym’s four Singapore locations, as well as the instructor team increasingly spreading awareness for the cause, the donations have grown at a rapid pace.

“Two years ago when we did this, we got over 10,000 dollars’ worth of donations,” says Vanessa Moore, Development Officer of Caring for Cambodia.

“This year, it is definitely more. Sometimes, I would come [to Evolve] and there would be three bins full nearly every day I came to pick them up.”

Although the collection drive wrapped up on Wednesday, 26 December, Evolve works with several other charities throughout the year.

Ever since 2010, the Singapore gym has worked with multiple organizations including The Boys’ Town Home, Singapore Children’s Society, Beyond Social Services, MIJ Eduhub, and the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (MINDS).

Another organization Evolve is affiliated with is the Children’s Cancer Foundation, which Moore has taken an active part in.

“It’s a wonderful organization here in Singapore that helps children with cancer as they are recovering and mainstreaming back into local schools,” she explains.

“We help them with their lessons, and [they] participate with some other Evolve members here in helping them get their motor coordination back and their physical skills [back]. It’s a fantastic program.”

While Evolve helps its competition team members and its many gym-goers to perfect their respective martial arts skills, they are also helping everyone in the local community unleash their inner greatness.

“At Evolve, we have a sacred mission,” Khan says. “We try to make the world a better place.”