Youth Program
2015
Overview
The Dresner Foundation provided the Downtown Boxing Gym with a grant that totaled $34,000 to provide youth participants with a secure ride to the gym. The grant will go towards hiring three drivers for one year.
Details
The Downtown Boxing Gym, located in downtown Detroit, offers a youth program that allows children and teens to work on their boxing technique and receive academic support. The program was founded by Carlos Sweeney in 2005 and has served over 253 kids, all of whom have graduated from high school.
The hardest part about running the program aside from maintaining the facilities was getting the kids to the gym. Most of the 65 enrolled kids were without reliable and safe transportation. In order to keep the kids in the gym Sweeney began to take the responsibility and cost of transporting those kids to and from the gym.
After hearing about the program, the Dresner Foundation visited the gym and immediately knew that it aligned with our mission. We understood that keeping the kids in the gym was important to both their success in boxing and also their academic success. To make sure that every child had a ride to the gym, the Dresner Foundation provided the Downtown Boxing Gym with a grant that would allow them to hire three drivers for one year. It is the goal of the grant that enrolled kids will now have the reliable and safe transportation that they need to get to and from the gym.