On May 3rd, I decided to set out on a journey to train for a boxing match on July 29th. This fight, while I am excited for the mental and physical challenges it offers, is an incredible opportunity for me to give back to a community and cause very near and dear to my heart.

I grew up on the Eastside of Vancouver in a lower class home, with a single mom. In my community things were not always easy, and there were constant opportunities to get lost in trouble instead of finding something positive to do. Growing up I lost friends, and family members to the Downtown Eastside way of life, because there wasn’t always a positive space to take them in and support them when they needed it most. I was lucky enough to find a group of adults that had the means to offer me a safe place learn and thrive outside of the problems my neighborhood made accessible, and I will forever be thankful for them. 

Eastside Boxing Club, Aprons for Gloves and the amazing individuals that run them are doing just that. All of the money raised by Aprons for Gloves goes back into the Eastside boxing club, and allows the gym to offer FREE programs to at risk women and youth of the Downtown Eastside. This gym is a place where people that need support and positivity can go to flourish and feel safe within their community. The Eastside Boxing Club gives a significant chance to people who desperately need to break the cycle of poverty and drug use. This is an incredible way for us who are more fortunate, whether it be by money or circumstance, to give back to the women and youth who need the resources the Eastside Boxing Club has to offer in an effort change their lives completely.

Please help me raise my goal of $2000.00 to break the cycle for the women and youth of our city who need it the most.