Founded in 2007 by coach Khali Sweeney, the facility incorporates an academic and athletic program to help students in inner-city Detroit. This program is free for all participating students, serving children in some of Detroit's toughest neighborhoods. The Downtown Boxing Gym also teaches life lessons with the motto Books Before Boxing. In addition to the gym space there is a STEAM Lab for science, technology, engineering art and math programming, a music studio donated by Eminem's former producer Jeff Bass, a learning kitchen donated by the Rachael Ray show, a computer lab, classrooms and a library. The gym has a 100% high school graduation rate for all participating students since it opened its doors. The after-school program, which takes place Monday through Friday all year round, has been located in a 27,000 square foot converted bookbinding factory since 2015.
Partnerships and donations
The Downtown Boxing Gym has received much recognition from an array of news sources from CNN to the Today Show to Rachael Ray and ESPN Magazine. In 2017, the gym began raising funds and requesting donations to go towards a renovation project that would lower their energy bills. At the time, the heating bill for the gym rose to a staggering $15,000 for one month alone. The renovation project would reduce energy costs by 85 percent and allow more students to join the program. DBG has partnered with many companies to help ensure success and college/career exposure to students that are a part of the program. In 2017, the organization received a $100,000 donation from Impact 100. This contribution to the program funded intensive literacy intervention with 60 students with assistance from Beyond Basics. The McGregor Fund also provided an $85,000 grant to support the operations of this program initiative. In the fall of 2016,the Downtown Boxing Gym also launched an after school computer coding program for students with Grand Circus Detroit LLC. This program brought in team members from the company to teach students the basics of coding via fun and interactive activities. On May 1, 2017Rocket Fiber began teaching students about fiber optics and the use of connected technology in order to help expose and prepare them for high tech careers in the technology industry. The largest donation to date is from the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation which donated $500,000 to the boxing gym for an apprenticeship program and more. The two year grant will be used to employ additional full-time staff, which will enable the gym to bring on more students.
Awards
Founder and CEO Khali Sweeney serves as a well known community activist in the city of Detroit and has received many awards and accolades for his passion to change the lives of youth. In 2017, Sweeney was honored as a 2017 Crain's Michigan Changemaker. Khali is also a 2017 CNN Hero Top 10 Finalist, and a recipient of the 2018 Governor's Service Award for "Mentor of the Year," and the 2019 Arthur L. Johnson community leadership award at Wayne State University. The gym's executive director Jessica Hauser was named among Crain's 2018 Class of 40 Under 40.
