In a city where youth can get lost in the shuffle, one organization is serving as a beacon of hope and light. The Downtown Boxing Gym (DBG) uses athletics to help push the real agenda — education. With a strong foundation and clear vision, DBG is changing lives one student at a time.  

The brainchild of founder and CEO Khali Sweeney, Downtown Boxing Gym is a homage to his former self while simultaneously being a rebirth, the Phoenix. Unable to read and write throughout his childhood, Sweeney decided to forge a path for inner-city children to learn the skills to not only succeed in education but in life.  

“I grew up in the city, went to school here; grew up here on the east side. I didn’t have a good experience in school. I was always told I would be dead or in jail before I was 21. I was always told you’re not even going to be able to get a job at McDonald’s, you’re not going to even be able to work as a garbage man. Nobody took the time out or even tried to give me another alternative to that,” said Sweeney.  

Invest in the future of our amazing students

Our year-end campaign is a critical effort necessary to sustain the continued success of DBG in the year ahead. With our sights set on doubling our capacity to support the more than 2,000  students on our waiting list, your donation today will help tomorrow’s leaders achieve their dreams. Thank you from all of us at DBG.