I love the stories about ordinary folks who get motivated to raise awareness/funding for a cause that's close to their heart. I especially love it when the method is a little unconventional. Take, for example, seventy-five-year-old Lou Davis of California. Davis is a tae kwon do black belt - cool!

A while back, Davis reoriented his martial arts youth group towards fund-raising for diabetes research. He hopes that he can reach young kids, keep them involved in sports (and away from drugs and violence) and teach them the importance of exercise in maintaining good health and preventing the onset of Type 2 diabetes. "Diabetes is not only affecting the elderly now," he says, "it's hitting the kids because they are not active enough."

Davis' group is called Martial Artists Against Drugs (MAAD). MAAD doesn't fool around: last year Davis teamed up with other martial arts studios and together they donated $9,000 to the American Diabetes Association and the Diabetic Youth Foundation. Pretty impressive for a local youth group! To learn more, visit MAAD's website.