Rebuild Lakota Nation Boxing Gym

The Thunder Lake Boxing Club is a vital resource for youth living on the Pine Ridge, Reservation in South Dakota. After a fire destroyed their gym earlier this year they are rebuilding and we want to help! 
For 11 years prior to the fire the team was training regularly and participating in regional tournaments, winning several regional championships. -   "Right now we are 13 youth Boxing, 10 girls, and 3 boys, ages ranging from 9 - 18 yrs old." -Coach, Richard Gray Grass.

My collaborators and I are helping The Thunder Lake Boxing Club raise funds for a new boxing ring. Please consider donating so that they can restore this important community resource before the onset of winter.

This summer I traveled to Pine Ridge, South Dakota where I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Rick Gray Grass, coach of the Thunder Lake Boxing Club and fellow community organizer. Community organizing is ineffective if we cannot understand the common roots of our oppression. It takes a certain kind of vision to see the fundamental underlying forms of struggle across communities and a compassionate heart to guide that vision, Rick Gray Grass possesses these rare qualities and is an honored and respected member of his community because of it. Please check out the brief bio bellow and commentary he offered on the history of the team bellow. "Rick Gray Grass, a community, and spiritual leader has dedicated his life to serving the youth and teens on Pine Ridge. He not only helps kids find ways to endure the ravaging effects of poverty and oppression but more so to overcome them. He mentors youth and works with boys and girls of all ages. He creates ongoing opportunities for them to get involved in their Native traditions and has created several youth sports programs to help them learn discipline, increase self-esteem and give them something to focus on and look forward to."   http://mitakuyefoundation.com/programs/

"I founded the club along with my nephew 11 years ago. When our boys wanted to box. We started out with 5 boys then we grew from there. Our on reservation team is called Thunder Lake and when we travel we're called Lakota Nation Boxing club to represent where we're from. Right now we are 13 youth Boxing, 10 girls, and 3 boys, ages ranging from 9 - 18 yrs old. We bought our Boxing ring about 6 years ago with a grant from a tribal program but it took us 2 and half years until we finally got final approval to purchase the boxing ring. Our ring burnt down this past June, we lost everything except the frame." -  Rick Gray Grass







Let's help restore this vital resource today! Please consider donating.

How the money will be spent:
The money raised by your donations will be spent on purchasing a boxing ring like the one in the image below with an approximate cost of 3,500.00 plus shipping charges.