Just beyond the hustle and bustle of Eastern Market and downtown Detroit, a grey brick industrial building sits neatly at the corner of E. Vernor Highway and Beaufait Street. Each day, like clockwork, vans pull up and children excitedly rush in. Happy chatter and boundless energy fills the air. And – with patience, persistence, dedication, tough love, compassion and care – lives are changed within those four walls. The children who enter the doors of the Downtown Boxing Gym Youth Program emerge as the best version of themselves with hope, promise, knowledge, skills, strength, determination, and the tools they need to pursue their dreams. Our FREE, after-school academic and athletic program for Detroit students is the brainchild of Khali Sweeney – a Detroit native on a mission to create a better environment for neighborhood kids. Together with executive director, Jessica Hauser, and a hardworking team of coaches, tutors, staff and volunteers, the program has steadily grown since 2007 – and racked up a 100% high school graduation rate in the process. The gym’s demanding boxing program turns out national champs and even pro fighters, but the real focus is transforming lives. Our youth program’s purpose is to provide a safe haven from the streets, knock out inequality in an imperfect educational system, level the playing field, and give students a fighting chance at a winning future.