In His Own Words
Jason Scalzo, Executive Director, Boxing is Love
Boxing Is Love uses boxing to establish a culture of independence, greatness and courage within the children of developing countries. The creation of these programs will engage the youth, teach them a skill, and inspire a generation to overcome circumstances that plague their community.
During our last trip to Liberia, we began one day by taking a small group of children from an orphanage to an open field to begin our daily session. As we walked, we started to attract more and more children from the surrounding village. By the time we reached the field, our small group turned into hundreds. They circled around us just to watch and after a few minutes, they began singing. All I heard was the sound of the gloves hitting mitts, and the beautiful voices of these children, while I stood on top of a hill overlooking a valley in Africa.
All too often, the actions of a few are used to dictate the perception of an entire culture, when in reality, the only difference between myself and these children is access to opportunity.
All someone has to do to make the world a better place is identify something they believe in, step outside themselves for a moment, and help.
I wish I learned a long time ago that comfort and success could be defined in so many ways, and not to let fear control my ambition.
Boxing Is Love is not meant to fix the “right now.” It’s meant to shift the trajectory of an entire generation. It’s meant to live on way past me.
