Fighting for a cause: taekwondo fundraiser supports Gold Star families [Video]

COLORADO SPRINGS — Breaking through wooden boards may sound like a tough feat but for these taekwondo athletes, it was just another Saturday. Hundreds of families gathered at Pine Creek High School for the 17th Annual Board Break-A-Thon.

“Essentially what we’ve been doing over the last two months, all of our students have been going out and raising money for the boards they’re going to break here today. Each one of our students will break up to five boards, and they’ll get to break into different stations. So they can do a running kick or a more powerful kick,” said U.S. Taekwondo Center President Jay Lee.

Lee, who has the taekwondo title of master, says his business has raised more than $500,000 for local nonprofits since the Break-A-Thon started in 2006.

“Beyond the physical part of kicking and punching, the most important thing we want to teach through the philosophy …