A free self-defense class for girls and women will be held Saturday in St. Joseph.

The Kiwanis Club of St. Joseph is providing volunteer and financial resources to bring in the TAKE program in to educate girls and women in the community with resources to defend themselves.

“This is to teach defense for girls in middle school on up,” Dick Sipe with the Kiawanis Club said. “It enable young women to escape from a dangerous situation.”

The class is will be held this Saturday, April 18 from 10 a.m. to 12 at the Keatley Center located at 1202 S. 28th St. in St. Joseph.  Sipe said the class is free but registration is required so participants will need to show up early to sign-up.

According to the program’s website, Roger and Kathy Kemp founded the TAKE Defense program in 2005 after their 19-year-old daughter Ali was murdered while working at a neighborhood pool in Johnson County, Kansas.

Sipe said the goal is to try and prevent such tragedies from taking place in our community.

“We think it’s important for St. Joseph, for the women of our community,” Sipe said. “We hope to make this an annual event.”

Sipe said more than 20 community sponsors has stepped up to help put on the program.

The class is free and open to girls from middle-school on up.  Sipe said the hope is to have around 200 attend.