JONI'S ANGELS (501c3)
Providing mentorship, guidance and fun to today's youth through our Joni's Angels Martial Arts Scholarship Program
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Joni's Angels Martial Arts
Scholarship Program
...changing young lives with Martial Arts!
About Us
The Joni's Angels Martial Arts Scholarship Program Pays for an entire year of great martial arts training, free of charge, for youth living in poverty. We currently serve communities and families through partnering "Guardians Network Member Schools" at 10 locations in four states.
Program Highlights:
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Full Tuition Coverage - Covers a full year of training, valued at up to $2,400, with any additional required expenses waived by participating schools.
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Ages Served - Open to qualifying youth students between the ages of 6 and 17.
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Guardians Network - Partners exclusively with vetted, high-quality Dojos and Instructors who provide positive mentorship and teach vital life skills like discipline, respect, and resilience.
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Safe Growth Environment - Designed to give young people in challenging circumstances a safe, fun, and structured environment to learn and to develop confidence in overcoming obstacles.
Coming Soon: The Joni's Angels Martial Arts Scholarship Student Application Portal!!!
JOIN US FOR THIS HISTORIC FUNDRAISING EVENT !!!
1st Annual JONI'S ANGELS VIRTUAL TELETHON
Live on Kick!!! - with updates twice an hour across a nationwide network of 11 Facebook Martial Arts Groups!
OCTOBER 24th, 2026 - 7 am to 7 pm
*See the press release below for details
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Sifu Charlie Hicks
Title: Director / C.O.O.
Organization: Joni’s Angels / 501(c)(3)
Phone: (509) 589-0568
Email: sifucharliehicks@gmail.com
Website: www.jonisangels.org
FIRST ANNUAL JONI’S ANGELS VIRTUAL TELETHON TO STREAM NATIONWIDE ON OCTOBER 24, BROADCAST AIRS LIVE ON KICK WITH LIVE UPDATES APPEARING TWICE AN HOUR ACROSS A NATIONWIDE NETWORK OF SOCLIAL MEDIA GROUPS
WASHINGTON, USA — Joni’s Angels, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering underserved youth through martial arts, has officially announced its 1st Annual Joni’s Angels Virtual Telethon. The streaming event will broadcast live on October 24 online via KICK, with live updates twice an hour across a nationwide network of Facebook social medial groups, anchoring in the "Martial Arts in Washington" Facebook digital community. The telethon’s digital footprint is set to span the entire United States, cross-streaming live updates through a syndication network of 10 major martial arts media groups. Additionally, Joni’s Angels is also planning to rebroadcast on YouTube following the live event, and we are actively negotiating broadcast segment possibilities with several regional public access television stations and digital sports channels throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Joni’s Angels bridges the financial gap for families in need by providing poverty-level youth with a full year of comprehensive martial arts training and direct mentorship completely free of charge. The upcoming telethon serves as the primary fundraiser to bankroll these scholarship slots for the upcoming year.
"Martial arts teaches discipline, respect, and resilience—tools that poverty-level youth need now more than ever," said Steve Altfillisch, Director at Joni's Angels. "This telethon is about mobilizing both the martial arts community and regional sports fans to ensure no child is excluded from the life-changing benefits of martial arts due to financial hardship."
The organization has opened corporate and community sponsorship tiers ranging from $50 event mentions to comprehensive $1,200 and $2,400 "Sponsor a Student" challenges. Elite tier corporate sponsors will receive year-round media exposure, official event merchandise placement, and direct quarterly updates on the specific students their funds support.
Production details and streaming links are available below, and sponsorship packets are available at https://givebutter.com/Telethon2 . Regional networks interested in broadcasting or covering the event are encouraged to reach out directly to the media contact listed above.
About Joni’s Angels:
Joni’s Angels is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Huntington Beach, California. The objective of this Telethon is to raise $25,000 to support the Joni's Angels Martial Arts Scholarship Program, a Pacific Northwest initiative that pairs youth living below the poverty line with local martial arts academies, funding 100% of tuition and equipment costs while fostering long-term mentorship and community safety net structures.
WANT TO BE MENTIONED ON OUR BROADCAST? WE NEED YOU!!! BECOME A CHALLENGE DONOR TODAY!!!
We are looking for caring individuals and businesses to help us drive donations during the 1st Annual Joni's Angels Virtual Telethon - and we are offering some great appreciation packages for businesses and people who want to become CHALLENGE DONORS by donating RIGHT NOW!
Mention for you and/or your business across our social network, on our website, and during our live broadcast is just the beginning ... and we have donation and sponsorship tiers to fit every budget. It doesn't matter if you donate $5 or $2500, we couldn't do any of this without YOUR help and we want to show our appreciation with our great Challenge Donation Sponsorship Packages and our great Donor Appreciation Gifts!
Individual donors and businesses can donate any amount, and our great Challenge Donation Sponsorship packages start as low as $50!
DONATE NOW to help us start the telethon with a bang and receive some great gifts and benefits! Scan the QR code or click on the appropriate link below to become a CHALLENGE DONOR today!
CHALLENGE DONOR SPONSORS / BUSINESS
Donation Tiers
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$50 Donation: Your business gets a mention before, during, and after the live event.
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$100 Donation: Your business gets mentioned as above, plus a free event T-shirt.
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$250 Donation: Your business gets a mention, a T-shirt, and a handsome wall plaque recognizing you as a proud sponsor.
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$500 Donation: Your business gets a mention, a T-shirt, a wall plaque recognizing you as a proud sponsor, and your business name printed on the back of our official event T-shirt (which will be offered as a free gift to donors at multiple times throughout the broadcast).
Sponsor a Student Challenge
You can change a life directly by sponsoring a student through our special challenge options:
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$1200 Student Partnering Challenge: Funds a student for six months and provides all $250 sponsor benefits, plus quarterly updates on your student and an e-copy of our quarterly newsletter, mention in our quarterly newsletter, social media mentions once a month for six months across our network of Facebook groups (11 groups), the right to use our affiliation in your own ads, and your company name on the back of our official event T-shirt. Your contribution will also be mentioned regularly during the broadcast and issued as a challenge to other businesses to match your donation.
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$2400 Sponsor a Student Challenge: Funds a single student for a full year and provides all $250 sponsor benefits, plus quarterly updates on your student and an e-copy of our quarterly newsletter, mention in our quarterly newsletter, social media mentions twice a month for a full year across our network of Facebook groups (11 groups), a listing on our website with your contact information and a link to your website, the right to use our affiliation in your own ads, and your company name on the back of our official event T-shirt.
Please join us in empowering the next generation through martial arts. Pick your sponsorship level and help change a young life today.
*Joni's Angels is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Your contributions are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.
To learn more about our great Challenging Sponsor benefits or to make a sponsoring donation, scan the QR code below or visit our Givebutter donation portal by clicking on the following link:
CHALLENGE DONORS / INDIVIDUALS
This section is currently under construction. Please check back in 24 hours for the link for Individual CHALLENGE DONORS and a list of some of the great appreciation gifts that we have for you as a show of our gratitude for your donation.
Our Guardian Angel Supporters / Donors
THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR SEMINAR ATTENDEES AND DONORS!!!
A special THANK YOU to all of the caring individuals who have
generously shown their support by making a contribution to the Joni's Angels Martial Arts Scholarship program in 2025!!!
YOU are the lifeblood of our program! We were able to fund 3 students for 2026 during our first 10 months of our program ... a FULL YEAR ahead of our anticipated and we couldn't help any of the families and young people who apply for our scholarship program without the support from our seminar attendees and generous donations from AWESOME people like YOU! You are all GUARDIAN ANGELS in our book!
Thank you SO MUCH for your compassion, generosity and kindness!!!
Here is a list of all of the great people that contributed to the Joni's Angels Martial Arts Scholarships Program in 2025...
YOU ARE ALL THE BEST!!!
Steve Altfillisch (Angel Investor) / Joni's Angels
Julie Beeman / VCS Environmental
Justin Shuck / Idagon Homes
Kevin Gillespie / Law Office of Kevin Gillespie
Edward Burg - Attorney at Manett, Phelps & Phillips
Matthew Hale / Attorney at Law
Darren Tetachuck / Black Bear Martial Arts
Jon Brown / North Idaho Jiu Jitsu
Cindy Watts
Lori Neuman
Richard Leibfried
Licia Emanuel-Moffett
Heidi Needs
Ron Riveira
Todd Durgan
Melinda Kamerath
Harold Schempp
...and to all of you who supported us by coming to our seminars or donating items and seminar space to assist in our fundraisers - THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
CORPORATE GUARDIANS
Listed below are the great CORPORATIONS and SMALL BUSINESSES that have made significant contributions to our Joni's Angels Martial Arts Scholarship Program. These great local businesses CARE about the young people in their community, and they show it through it through their generous contributions to our program. They are businesses with HEART - and that's why we love them!!!
Tzu Jan Martial Arts Institute - Newport, WA
"Embracing the Art as a Whole"
401 N. Spokane Ave. #15
Newport, WA 99156
Private lessons for advanced martial artists of all styles and systems - by invitation only. Email for inquiries
Black Bear Martial Arts - Sandpoint, ID
"Great Martial Arts for Kids & Adults!"
1411 N. Division Avenue
Sandpoint, ID 83864
(208) 946-4515
https://blackbeartangsoodo.com/
NORTH IDAHO JIU JITSU - Sandpoint, ID
"Providing top-quality training for all skill levels"
401 N. Division Avenue, Unit #D
Sandpoint, ID 83864
(208) 536-3921
Great training for all skill levels, while maintaining a family-friendly environment.
Matthew R Hale - Burien, Washington
Attorney at Law, PLLC
2108 SW. 152nd Street, Suite #B
Burien, WA 98166
(206) 900-9344
The Legal Help You Need To Move Forward.
VCS ENVIRONMENTAL - San Juan Capistrano, CA
"Experts In Strategic Solutions"
30900 Rancho Viejo Road, Suite 100
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
Creating effective solutions for your environmental consulting needs.
IDAGON HOMES LLC - Sandpoint, ID
"Your slogan here"
1225 Washington Avenue
Sandpoint, ID 83864
(208) 304-2394
Building the home of your dreams.
Law Office of KEVIN GILLESPIE - Redlands, CA
"Knowledgeable. Experienced. Persistent."
411 Brookside Avenue
Redlands, CA 92373
(909) 792-2039
Real Estate - Business Transactions
Mergers & Acquisitions - Secured Lending
EDWARD BURG at Manatt Phelps & Phillips - Los Angeles, CA
"Your slogan here"
2049 Century Park East, Suite 1700
Las Angeles, CA 90067
Specializing in real property litigation, inverse condemnation & eminent domain matters, and general trials and appeals.
Want to have your business featured here?
Simply DONATE $100 or more in your company's name. We will include your picture or logo, your business address, a brief description of your offerings, and a link to your email or website.
Help us help others by donating TODAY!!!
OUR AWESOME GUARDIANS NETWORK MEMBER SCHOOLS
Got a favorite school or area that you would like to support?
We have created a secondary donation system that allows you to donate DIRECTLY to our program at the
Guardians Network Member School in your local area!
Below you will find a list of all of the great martial arts schools that serve as outlets for our Joni's Angels Martial Arts Scholarship Program. Click on the school logo to make a donation to support our program exclusively at that school.
You will also find the contact information for each school next to their logo, and you can click on their listed website address to go to their website and check out all of the great classes and services that they have to offer.
This is a new section that is currently under construction. In the very near future, it will contain pictures and/or videos from our most recent seminars and fundraising events. Check back soon!
Our Program & Activities
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Joni's Angels Martial Arts Scholarship Program
Our "Joni's Angels Martial Arts Scholarship Program" is a program that pays for qualifying economically disadvantaged youth students to participate in a full year of lessons at select GUARDIANS NETWORK MEMBER SCHOOLS. (We are currently fundraising for this program and interviewing local Martial Arts Schools that meet our high standards for potential inclusion in our program.)
The program works like this: we actively seek out GREAT martial arts schools with a history of success in their youth programs and Instructors that are excellent role models for their youth students. When we find them, we invite them to join our program.
When they join and become official GUARDIANS NETWORK MEMBER SCHOOLS, they can then start taking applications for qualifying youth students.
Every December, we issue "scholarships" that allow young people facing economic hardship the opportunity to start attending classes at these great schools for an entire year! These $2400 scholarship awards are paid directly to the school and are designed to pay all required expenses for that student to attend classes. The GUARDIANS NETWORK MEMBER SCHOOLS in our program agree to pay any required expenses above and beyond the amount of our scholarship award, ensuring that the young people who qualify for our program have the same opportunities and access that is provided to other young people attending classes.
The scholarship funding is awarded on a "first come, first served" basis. Funds are released in December to pay for enrollment from January 1st through December 31st of the following year.
We are currently touring the Pacific Northwest in search of schools that provide great mentorship and guidance to include in our program, and we intend to expand our program into the Southwest over the course of the next few years.
If you own/manage a great martial arts school and would like to be considered for our program - or you live in the Pacific Northwest and are the legal guardian of a young person who would benefit from the mentorship and guidance that our Guardians Network Member Schools have to offer, please contact us by clicking the button below and sending us an email and requesting to join our program (and please include a short paragraph explaining why you think that you are a good fit for or program). Thank you.
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Great Fundraising Seminars and Events
As a 501c3 Nonprofit, our fundraising activities are the lifeblood of our program. We couldn't help a single young person without the help of generous donors and sponsors like YOU. From fundraising raffles and silent auctions to online fundraisers and out popular fundraising seminars, we are constantly engaged in some kind of exciting and fun-filled fundraising event!
Among our most popular events are our awesome FUNDRAISING SEMINARS. These great martial arts events feature world-class Instructors, cover a wide variety of topics, and are geared for every interest and experience level... it is no wonder that they are the most popular way for people to support our program! Have fun, pick up some great martial arts/self defense tips, and help improve the lives of economically challenged young people at the same time!!! It's a GREAT way to show your support!
We are currently offering our "Mastering Timing in Attack & Defense" seminar at North Idaho Jiu Jitsu on September 14th! This is a great "DONATION ONLY" event - which means that a donation of ANY AMOUNT is all that is needed
to register and participate.
If you own a martial arts school in the Pacific Northwest and would like to HOST one of our seminars (a great way to make a little extra money for your school and get a TON of free publicity while supporting a great cause at the same time), please contact us through the contact form provided on this site. The button below will take you to it.
We also engage in several other fundraising activities, including Online Auctions, Donation Drives, Support Club Memberships with proceeds going to our program, Corporate and Individual Sponsorship drives, and soliciting funds from both Corporate and Private Foundation Grant programs. We are ALWAYS doing something exciting to raise funds to help the young people in our scholarship program. Visit this website often and check the BLOG page for the latest on our upcoming FUNDRAISING SEMINARS and EVENTS.
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Our Online Network of Mutual Respect & Collaboration
Here at Joni's Angels / Guardians of the Martial Way, one of our goals is to do good things FOR martial art by doing good things WITH martial art. We try to help young people facing difficult circumstances by putting them together with great role models and mentors through martial arts training, we work hard to promote schools and instructors that represent the Art well, so that more and more people will be drawn to its study and practice, and we act as ambassadors for the Art by bringing martial artists from different styles and systems together in an atmosphere of mutual respect and collaboration so that we can all learn from one another and the Art as a whole will continue to grow.
Our online network of Facebook groups and websites - which we call our " Nationwide Network of Mutual Respect and Collaboration" is designed to do just that. We currently have TWELVE Facebook groups that feature great Martial Arts content and serve as an information hub for the martial artists in the STATES and REGIONS that they serve, allowing them to stay abreast of the latest TOURNAMENTS, SEMINARS and MARTIAL ARTS EVENTS happening in their area.
These groups are also great places to CONNECT with other MARTIAL ARTISTS, learn about OTHER styles and systems, and to POST YOUR OWN events and videos in order to reach a broader audience. We typically SHARE what our GROUP MEMBERS post in several of our other groups as well - and our network reach is NATIONWIDE!!! We also actively promote the offerings of our group members! We do not allow marketing for PRODUCTS or SPECTATOR-ONLY events in our Facebook groups, only events and activities that our members can PARTICIPATE in. Our groups are designed to serve our MEMBERS, not to provide a "target" for marketers or a playground for trolls - so we monitor activity and enforce the rules consistently to ensure that our MEMBERS are never assaulted by SPAM, ridiculed or criticized in the COMMENTS, or forced to deal with DISRESPECT when they visit.
Our ONLINE NETWORK OF MUTUAL RESPECT AND COLLABORATION started in Washington a few years ago and has grown in popularity to now include the following FACEBOOK GROUPS:
(1) Martial Arts in Washington
(2) Martial Arts in Texas
(3) Martial Arts in California
(4) Martial Arts in Oregon
(5) Martial Arts of Idaho
(6) Martial Arts in New York & New Jersey
(7) Martial Arts in the Northwest
(8) Martial Arts in the Southwest
(9) Martial Arts in the Midwest
(10) Martial Arts in the Northeast
(11) Martial Arts in the Southeast
(12) The Guardians of the Martial Way
…and we are constantly looking for volunteers who would like to serve as an admin and help govern groups in NEW STATES so that we can continue to expand our network.
The button below will take you to the "Guardians of the Martial Way" Facebook group for easy access to our network. The others can be found by entering the group name into the search bar on Facebook.
MEET OUR PEOPLE
Deborah Stowell-Buffkin, our C.E.O. and Program Ambassador in the Southwest, first teamed up with Steve Altfillisch (our C.F.O) to form Joni's Angels in 2006, to honor the memory of Joan Donnelly Altfillisch (Steve's Wife and Deborah's life-long friend) after her passing.
The original Joni's Angels program paired teen volunteers with children who were suffering from long-term illnesses and confined to clinical settings for peer-interaction and play therapy. It was a very successful program, but it was suddenly halted when Covid restrictions prevented our volunteers from visiting at hospitals and clinics.
In early 2025, Deborah and Steve teamed up with Sifu Charlie Hicks to develop our current program, the Joni's Angels Martial Arts Scholarship Program, so they could continue to help young people and honor the memory and spirit of Joan Altfillisch.
For a great article about Deborah that appeared in the Orange County Register in 2007, click HERE
Deborah Buffkin
Ambassador / CEO
Sifu Charlie Hicks, our C.O.O. and National Program Ambassador joined the Joni's Angels team in early 2025 after discussing the basic concept of this new program with Steve Altfillisch. Steve and Deborah liked the idea as a new direction for Joni's Angels that would allow them to continue to help young people and be a positive force for good in the world. They decided to bring Sifu Charlie on board as C.O.O.
Charlie is a well-known Martial Arts personality with a forty-year background in the Art. He in lived poverty as a teen and was guided away from a bad environment by four GREAT Martial Arts Instructors (who often taught him for FREE because they knew he couldn't afford to pay.) He WAS one of the young people that this program aims to help, and he knows first-hand the life-altering difference that a great Instructor can make in the life of a struggling young person.
He also brings a strong business background to the table, making him a great addition to the Joni's Angels team.
Ambassador / COO
Sifu Charlie Hicks
Steve Altfillisch, our C.F.O and Program Ambassador in the Northwest, is the Co-Founder of Joni's Angels and the Head Coach at North Idaho Self Defense in Sandpoint, Idaho.
Steve and Charlie became friends and training partners in 2023, and their friendship and collective desire to do something GOOD with the Art that simultaneously helped young people while promoting the life-changing personal benefits that come from studying the Art to the public at large led to the development of our Martial Arts Scholarship Program.
Along with a good heart and a generous spirit, Steve also brings a wealth of business knowledge and resources to the table that includes an intimate knowledge of the unique challenges that nonprofit programs often face and an unparalleled ability to overcome them.
With over a decade of experience in the Art (Krav Maga, BJJ, JKD, Tzu Jan) and a lifetime of success in business, Steve is definitely the "glue" that holds it all together and keeps our program running smoothly.
Steve Altfillisch
Ambassador / CFO
SI-HING GROUP SEMINAR- EXPLORING "WHAT IF?"
a Fundraising Seminar at
NORTH IDAHO JIU JITSU
1441 N. Division Avenue, Unit #D, SANDPOINT, ID - January 25th, 2026
10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Join us on Sunday, January 25th, 2026
EXPLORING "WHAT IF?" Learn How To Master The Live Application Of Fighting Technique
Register early and SAVE using the QR code below, or pay at the door (please make checks out to Joni's Angels) Early Registration ends January 10th. Early registration - $75. Register at the door - $100.
Guardians Network Member School / Si-Hing Registration - $50. (Select "Guardians Registration" through link or pay at the door.) All profits from this event go to support poverty-level youth through the Joni's Angels Martial Arts Scholarship Program.
We will be offering signed copies of Sifu Charlie's book at the event!
Space is limited, so register TODAY!
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To REGISTER, scan or click on the QR code above. To purchase a copy of EXPLORING WHAT IF from Amazon, just click on the book image.
Get In Touch with Joni's Angels
Sifu Charlie Hicks / National Ambassador
401 N. Spokane Ave. #15
Newport, WA 99156