An international-level jiu-jitsu athlete is advocating again for Nanaimo dads.
Jimmy Lapointe of Island Top Team is entered in the Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championships in Los Angeles in mid-March, but before he goes, he wants to try to make a difference to men on the mid Island.
Lapointe is putting on two events as part of his I Love Dads fundraiser for Nanaimo's Men's Centre – a pub night at Fibber Magee's on Sunday (March 1), then a yoga session at OmTown Yoga the following week.
Lapointe, a purple belt middleweight, won gold at an International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation event in Seattle in the fall and will be competing in his second Pan-Ams as part of an Island Top Team contingent in L.A. from March 11-15. Going to such a high-profile competition gives Lapointe the opportunity to try to, in turn, raise the profile of a Nanaimo organization that's made a difference in his life.
"The men's centre has helped me so much during a lot of emotional stress that I've gone through and am going through with my separation and with my kids and just in life," he said. "They're there for a variety of different reasons. It's not just going through a separation – there's other aspects of life that can cause a lot of stress for men and they're there."
There is no cover charge to come to Sunday's pub night, from 8-10 p.m. at Fibber's, located on Selby Street.
"It's not about even making a donation; it's just coming, meeting people and becoming aware of what the men's centre can do," Lapointe said.
The following Sunday, March 8, will be 'karma' yoga, by donation, from 7:30-8:45 p.m. at the OmTown studio on Commercial Street.
For more information about the I Love Dads fundraisers, please visit http://themenscentre.ca/i-heart-dads-fundraiser/ or e-mail jimmylapointe@ymail.com.
sports@nanaimobulletin.com