Meet DBG
- All
- Events
- Program Highlights
- Student Stories
From Nonprofit “Draft Pick” to Social Justice Thought Leader, Here’s How DBG Took Part in NFL Draft Events
Detroit dazzled in the NFL draft spotlight April 25-27, breaking the event’s three-day attendance record with more than 775,000 fans. It was the first time ...
Read More →
DBG Flag Football Junior Coach Shines During NFL Draft
The NFL draft proved to be a once in a lifetime experience for DBG 6th grader Ojni (pronounced AH-ja-NEE). Not only did the 12-year-old get ...
Read More →
DBG Among Hosts for 2024 National Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions
The top amateur boxers from across the United States and as far away as Hawaii will converge on Detroit May 13-18 to face off in ...
Read More →
Oak & Reel Launches Scholarship Fund for DBG Students Interested in Culinary Careers
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of chefs and head cooks is expected to grow significantly in the next decade, with tens of ...
Read More →
Michigan Panthers Visit DBG and Win 2024 Season Opener
Select Michigan Panthers players visited the Downtown Boxing Gym on a sunny Friday as the team got set to open the 2024 United Football League ...
Read More →
DBG 9th Grader Delivers Powerful Speech to Lawmakers in Lansing
DBG 9th grader Uriel (pictured far left, above), who also serves as student council vice president at DBG, is using her powerful speaking voice to ...
Read More →
DBG Recognized for Impact, Awarded Historic Gift from MacKenzie Scott’s ‘Open Call’
For the third time in less than a year, the Downtown Boxing Gym is receiving national recognition and support for our impactful work to help ...
Read More →
Meet DBG’s Four Student Researchers for the National Science Foundation
There was an air of hushed intensity as four Downtown Boxing Gym students and Purdue University researchers paired off in twos to conduct practice interviews, ...
Read More →
DBG Student Chefs ‘Savor, Share and Celebrate’ with Spirited Cooking Competition
There were plenty of cooks in the DBG kitchen. Several teams of student chefs and volunteers to be exact. They mixed, stirred, flipped and garnished ...
Read More →
Six DBG Team Members Take on Expanded Roles
At DBG, we work hard every day to provide the tools, resources, individualized programming, proprietary mentorship methodology and measured impact needed to help our students ...
Read More →
DBG Students Help Allocate $4,000 for New Programming
Swimming lessons, improvements to our STEAM Lab, foreign language classes, and having a bearded dragon as a class pet were among several unique and well-thought-out ...
Read More →
DBG Accepts National Literacy Award in Washington, D.C.
The Downtown Boxing Gym (DBG) champions literacy for children – and the nation is taking notes. DBG is the proud recipient of a 2023 Library ...
Read More →
Rose’s Fine Food Founder Molly Mitchell Joins DBG to Lead Culinary Arts Program
A decade ago, Molly Mitchell opened Rose’s Fine Food on Detroit’s east side with a simple mission, “to provide from-scratch food with quality local ingredients ...
Read More →
Detroit Artist’s Cool Hard Hat Auctioned for DBG Via Sachse Construction
(The DBG hard hat is the first one from the right. Photo credit: Brad Ziegler Photography) Sachse Construction, a Detroit-based commercial construction firm and longtime ...
Read More →
DBG Receives Library of Congress Literacy Award for Being a National Leader in Literacy
On this International Literacy Day (September 8), the Downtown Boxing Gym is thrilled to announce we have received a 2023 Library of Congress Literacy Award. ...
Read More →
A College Campus Doubled as ‘Summer Camp’ for Career-Focused DBG Students
More than half a dozen DBG students packed their belongings and headed off to camp this summer, but the backdrop was a college campus – ...
Read More →
NSF Awards $2 Million Grant to Purdue University and Downtown Boxing Gym for STEM-Based Research
Every weekday, elementary through high school students opt in to participate in a variety of classes in the DBG STEAM lab – studying everything from ...
Read More →
DBG Students Mentor, Earn and Learn with Grow Detroit’s Young Talent
Our Downtown Boxing Gym students are wrapping up a jam-packed summer of learning, fun, and growth filled with lessons they will carry with them for ...
Read More →
DBG Students Soak up Sun and Fun at Camp Tanuga
There’s something magical about overnight camp, especially at Camp Tanuga in Kalkaska (30 miles east of Traverse City.) The camp includes 220 acres of wooded trails, ...
Read More →
Meet the DBG Chicks! What Came First, the Chicken or the Egg?
At DBG, the egg(s) came first. Where did the eggs come from? The Belle Isle Nature Center. Now, all the peeps around DBG are chirping ...
Read More →
Celebrating the DBG Class of 2023 – Maliq Watkins
Hard work is the name of the game for Maliq Watkins. A graduate of Detroit’s Southeastern High School, Maliq was a student athlete who played ...
Read More →
Celebrating the DBG Class of 2023 – Mackenzie Canty
The journey to graduation is filled with countless memories and experiences for Mackenzie Canty. The Martin Luther King High School graduate is grateful for opportunities ...
Read More →
Celebrating the DBG Class of 2023 – Chauncey Shaw
Chauncey Shaw spent his entire childhood at DBG. After 13 straight years attending the Downtown Boxing Gym, he calls it his “home away from home.” ...
Read More →
Celebrating the DBG Class of 2023 – DeShawn Beal
DeShawn Beal will never forget the first time he met our founder and CEO Khali Sweeney. “Sixth grade, I was into things – gangs, fighting, ...
Read More →
Celebrating the DBG Class of 2023 – Isaiah Chambers
It’s safe to say Isaiah Chambers has a way with words. The soon-to-be-graduate of University Preparatory Academy High School is a poet who got into ...
Read More →
Celebrating the DBG Class of 2023 – Michael Perry
Michael Perry’s high school career began during the COVID-19 pandemic. Much like many other students, he needed some external accountability to stay focused and disciplined ...
Read More →
Celebrating the DBG Class of 2023 – DaSean Moore
When he was just 12 years old, DBG senior DaSean Moore remembers putting together a ceiling fan all by himself. That sparked a passion for ...
Read More →
Celebrating the DBG Class of 2023 – Christopher Roberts
Christopher Roberts walked into DBG as a 7 year old boy. Today, he’s walking out as a young man with college plans and dreams of ...
Read More →