- We are back and we've got Quentin Plair here, give it up!
(audience clapping)
All too often, kids in under-resourced communities
fall through the cracks.
It's not that they aren't smart or motivated y'all,
they just don't get the same opportunities as other kids.
That's why we are so excited and into
a Chicago program that's helping kids gain confidence
and stay on a track for success using boxing as the hook.
You're gonna love this, it involves sports.
Here to explain, let's welcome the executive director
of Chicago Youth Boxing Club, Noah!
Give it up for him, y'all.
(audience clapping)
Meet Quentin!
So explain more about the boxing club.
- Yeah, so it was 2006 in Little Village
on the west side of Chicago.
There were a couple of coaches, they were looking for spaces
to train and coach kids and stuff, and you know,
they found Pastor Vic at La Villita Community Church
in Little Village, and he was so floored
by what they were doing, he was like
"Listen, you can use the basement
here in the church, and set up".
And ever since then, you know, it's grown into,
we've served about 3000 kids since 2006, you know?
- [Kelly] Wow.
- And the whole mission and purpose of it
is, you know, for really bringing young people
from the community and this is a safe haven.
This is where you can learn boxing.
This is where you can grow.
This is where you can be yourself.
- [Kelly] Learn discipline.
- Yeah! Discipline, patience, perseverance,
all of that stuff, like, our passion is
young people in our community and stuff.
- And the point isn't just to get them into boxing, right?
It's also them, like, in a social setting with other people.
There's so much more than that, right?
- Yes.
- Not just the boxing.
- Yeah, so like, part of what we teach is all like,
perseverance, the patience and the discipline that it takes,
and I think, like a lot of people don't realize this
and they just think boxing is like this individual sport.
It's just you, you don't need anybody else in there.
But the reality is, when your hands are all wrapped up,
like, you can't do anything for yourself.
Like, you can't drink water.
Like, you need somebody feeding you water as your, yeah.
- [Kelly] A team.
- Yeah, it's a whole village to basically
get you into the ring.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- And so that's where we come in.
- I love that, so, you grew up doing sports obviously.
- Yeah, I did.
- So how did that impact you, do you think?
- I mean, well for one, my dad coached me
in most of, all the basketball I did,
so it was really great.
Our whole family bonded, you know?
It was the type of thing, Alexis played a lot of sports
and we always wanted to show up for each other.
- Yeah.
- And so for me, I mean, A, it gives you that comradery
with a group, you know?
It helps you with discipline, and stuff like that.
But it was also just like, for me it was a family thing
and it was just loving.
- [Kelly] You felt a part of something?
- Yeah, I felt a part of something and you know.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- And you know, something to do on Saturday.
Something to look forward to every week.
You know?
- Something positive to do on the weekend.
- It's something positive, exactly.
And also something you had to earn, you know?
If your grades weren't looking right.
- [Kelly] Oh man, yeah.
- You weren't playing on Saturdays.
- So you attract kids by teaching boxing,
but there's a lot more to this.
- Yeah, of course, so you know, we teach the sport of boxing
but we also have a huge part of our program
which is academics, right?
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- So we run this program, it's called "Si Se Puede"
which in Spanish means, you know, "yes you can".
- Yeah.
- You know, and on a daily basis kids can come,
you know, to our facility and get help with their homework
and their projects and stuff like that.
Yeah, but in addition to that, yeah, thank you.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
(audience clapping)
- You know, the other piece that like,
I'm super floored about that they've, you know,
we've been doing for a couple years now
is a scholarship, right, so not only do we care about like,
the here and now, this is, you know, we want to
support you with your school but like,
we want to see you grow after high school,
and so, you know, the scholarship that we offered to
about 20 recipients or so, you know, is something
that we want to, you know, reward them
so they can use this, you know, whether it's
two years, or four years, or a trade school,
or whatever it is, grad school, like, that's what
we want to see our young people go towards
so we actually give them the resources
that they need, you know?
- Not everybody has that opportunity, so to give people,
to give them a goal or see a light ahead,
like somebody believes in them and they can make it happen.
That's so transformative, from your soul inside and out.
So what kind of changes have you seen in the kids over time?
- Yeah, so you know, when our kids start with us, right,
a lot of them start off shy.
But once you get in the ring, like, that's where
you really feel the power and the confidence
that you personally have.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- Right off the bat too, like, I can think of
at least six of our kids that have lost
60 to 80 pounds since they've started the project.
- Oh my gosh!
(audience clapping)
- Yeah, yeah.
- Maybe I will get back into boxing!
I was like, wait a minute!
- Yeah, and it's something, you know,
they don't hate it.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- Like, there's something that they love doing,
that they're motivated by, you know?
And the other thing, like, that I'm really.
- Empowering.
- Yes.
- Yeah.
- You know, that I'm like, really floored about,
is you know, so our space, like, you know,
is located right in between rival gangs in Little Village.
And it's a reality, it's an unfortunate reality
that we, you know, like we live with, and stuff like that
but our program is kind of known as a safe space
for kids from both sides.
Like we don't care, like what side you come from, right?
Like this is where you can come and be yourself
and learn the sport of boxing, and you know,
be a better version of yourself.
So that's something that like, I've seen too,
like the changes, and like, the impact that we've had.
- I can't even imagine the impact on the community.
Especially from both sides coming in
and collectively agreeing in this one space.
That's amazing.
That's where a change can happen.
- Yeah.
- So the club is all about helping Chicago youth
avoid gangs and drugs but it also opens up
big opportunities so Noah, you say many of the coaches
have a special connection to the kid so explain why.
- So all of our coaches have at one point in time
been members of our program, you know?
They started at 10.
They started at like 12 years old.
- [Kelly] That's cool.
What a testimony to the other parents, yeah.
- You know, they fell in love with the sport of boxing
but they also fell in love with like, coaching
and wanting to give back to the program
so that's something that I absolutely love about our staff.
- It's gotta be a great program if people want to
stick around and help out afterwards too,
after they're out of it.
- [Noah] Yeah.
- That's incredible.
Well we have someone in the audience
who started with the program when he was 13 as a member.
Nine years later he is a coach and his life
looks like nothing he expected.
Let's say hi to George everybody!
What's up George?
(audience cheering)
- So George, take us back.
Like, what was it that first day at the boxing club?
What was it like?
- The first, well, I grew up in Little Village,
and it's a great neighborhood, you know?
But we also have our ups and downs with violence.
See I grew up in school, you know,
I had fights and everything, but my cousin,
he introduced me to the boxing gym under the church.
So, and it was only about five blocks away from me
and I didn't even know the whole time
growing up in Little Village, so I'm great,
and I'm grateful for, you know, there's a
great boxing gym in the church.
- What a cool thing too, with a kid that's like fighting,
it's like, all right, if you want to fight,
come show up here and learn how to do it right,
and like actually get that out
and express it in a better way.
So, what was your experience at the boxing club like
back then, like when you were hanging out?
When you started getting into it?
- Well, my experience, well within my first three months
I had my first fight and I lost.
- Humbling.
- But, I had fun. I had fun, you know?
And I think that's the most important part
is having fun in the sport.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- So, I kept fighting, you know.
I gained up to about 80 amateur fights.
- Wow!
- [George] I have lots of trophies.
(audience clapping)
- [Kelly] That's cool!
- [George] There you go.
- [Kelly] Oh my gosh!
Oh my god!
You should have led with that.
I'd have just had the picture of all my trophies.
Like, this is who I am!
That's amazing!
- Thank you, and yeah, so I have all my trophies
and my belts all over the gyms.
Just to keep the youth, you know, motivated,
and keep them going.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- And yeah, that's it.
- That's incredible man.
So what made you come back and now be a coach?
- I just love coaching.
Like, I love boxing, so if I coach, you know,
I stick around with the youth and teach them what I know.
I could create my open champions.
- [Kelly] Mm-hmm.
- And that's the goal, to create more champions
and opening doors for them.
More opportunities for them, you know?
- Yeah, but you know what, you're the opportunity too
because they'll see you and be like,
my life doesn't have to look like
how people are telling me it has to look.
There's something bigger, there's something better.
There's more.
- [George] Yeah.
- And also becoming like, the best version of yourself
like he was saying, like, that's so cool!
It's not like you're speaking, it's not like lip service,
like to these kids you've actually been them.
- [George] Right.
- That makes a whole hell of a difference.
- It does, yeah.
- To someone listening to you, and they're more
apt to listen to you because of that,
which is so smart, and so cool of you
to give back to the kid you once were.
That's super cool man.
(audience clapping)
Yeah, you should get a trophy for that.
So we love how the Chicago Youth Boxing Club
is lifting up your community.
It's beautiful.
We hope it impacts other communities.
And so do our friends at Academy Sports and Outdoors.
That's why they're giving you $5000 just to help out.
(audience cheering)
- Just to help out.
It's incredible what you're doing.
Thank you.