Six-Year-Old MMA Prodigy Organizes Backpack Giveaway to Bring Community Together to Honor Fallen LAPD Officer Juan Diaz
Six-year-old Aaron Lomas has organized a backpack giveaway and an opportunity for local children to take their photo with MMA and Muay Thai Champions in remembrance of recently slain LAPD Officer Juan Diaz. The community event will be giving away 500 backpacks to children on August 17th. Students under the age of 18 are eligible for the backpacks.
LOS ANGELES, August 13, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Six-year-old Aaron Lomas has organized a backpack giveaway and an opportunity for local children to take their photo with MMA and Muay Thai Champions in remembrance of recently slain LAPD Officer Juan Diaz. The community event will be giving away 500 backpacks to children on August 17th. Students under the age of 18 are eligible for the backpacks.
The backpacks will be distributed on August 17th 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm at The Yard Muay Thai, a gym just a short walk from the Lincoln Heights taco stand where Diaz was fatally shot on July 27th.
"I was very sad that a policeman was killed," said Aaron. "I thought helping the children in the community would be something positive that would help people feel better."
Muay Thai, Mixed Martial Arts, and Jiu-Jitsu champions who train at The Yard and 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu Headquarters will be distributing the backpacks at the event. They will also be taking photos with everyone that comes. Fighters from both gyms have worked with Aaron Lomas, including 10th Planet Fight Team manager Robert Rodriguez, a first-degree jiu-jitsu black belt and a three-time All-American wrestler.
Rodriguez, who is serving as spokesman for the event, believes that Aaron's martial arts training (Aaron has trained wrestling, jiu-jitsu, and currently studies Muay Thai) may have encouraged his social activism. "Wrestlers are problem solvers, we see a problem and we are driven to fix it," Rodriguez said. "Aaron is a standout wrestler and he saw a community in mourning. He doesn't care about his age or how big he is, he has a big heart and wants to help."
According to Aaron's father, Alfred Lomas, Diaz' death hits particularly close to home. Aaron trains at The Yard, a Muay Thai gym that is a short distance from the spot where Diaz was shot. Aaron noticed the candle vigil mourners have created for Diaz while walking to the gym and asked his father about it.
"I explained what happened, and I tried to explain why, but it is all sad because it does not really make sense," Alfred Lomas said. "In light of such a tragedy, we know the memorial for officer Diaz will have a positive impact on the community because of the heart and courage from a six-year-old boy can bring together world champions and our community."
Contact: Robert Rodriguez, 10th Planet Fight Team Manager and Executive Director of the Champions Project (rob (at) 10thplanetjj (dot) com) 213-505-61205
Date: August 17th
Time: 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm
Location: The Yard Muay Thai: 241 W Ave 26, Los Angeles, CA 90031
SOURCE 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu
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