Engagement
Update: We raised $2,000 through this fundraising endeavor and donated all of it directly to the ACLU of Northern California.
About: This year’s presidential election exposed how divided we are as a nation, and how isolated we are in our communities. The mission of the grapple-athon is to bridge that gap by using Brazilian Jiu-jitsu as a platform.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gyms are one of the few places where people of all backgrounds put aside their differences, working together in the collective mission to support each other’s development and growth as grapplers.
In the spirit of BJJ camaraderie, the Rolling For The People team conducted the first ever multi-dojo, 36-hour, grapple-athon as a show of solidarity for the many diverse communities of the Bay Area inside and outside the grappling community. This event is symbolic of community connection, and our shared, continuous struggle for human rights.
Rolling for the People on Instagram
Rolling for the People on Facebook
Check out this video made about the Bay Area Grapple-athon by Stanford's Department of Athletics, Physical Education and Recreation.
About The Rolling For The People Team
Originating out of FOUR Elements Fitness with support from the FOUR Elements Art Series, The Rolling For The People Team is facilitated by grapplers Shawn Tamaribuchi-Keiser, Vonique Stricklen, Melissa Wyman and Dion Burns. The team now consists of a growing group of grapplers training out of different gyms across the Bay Area and beyond. Putting political affiliations aside, the mission of this team is to recognize the rights and contributions of people of different ethnicities, religions, gender identity and sexual orientation both on and off the mat.