Every week, 16-year-old George Lukas is outside the Food Bank in Ladysmith helping unload bread for the Cowichan Food Connection.
Lukas is now looking for some support from the community to help compete against the world’s best on the international judo stage.
Lukas was recently selected for a fight-off during a national competition for a chance to advance to the international tournament.
Lukas won the match and is now preparing for a round of training in Montreal before heading to Kiev, Ukraine on Aug. 6 for the Under 17 Championships.
The Lukas family has applied to different levels of government, but have been told he does not qualify for funding because he is an individual athlete and not an Olympian.
Lukas, a member of the Mill Bay and Victoria Judo Clubs, is now looking to raise around $5,000 for the training in Montreal and flight and expenses in Kiev.
Anyone wanting to help Lukas can leave a donation at the Chronicle made out to the Judo Club of Canada or the Mill Bay or Victoria Judo Club.
For Lukas, the excitement is mounting.
“It’ll be quite an experience,” said the stoic 16-year-old.
Lukas said he really connected with the judo because of the tournaments and physical exertion of the sport.