Staunton Boxing Club Revival
Donation protected
We MUST not let the Staunton Boxing Club be closed forever! Let's carry the torch!
The Staunton Boxing Club has been a community icon in our historical town of Staunton, Virginia for almost 20 years. When Bruce Frank opened the gym, he had a vision in mind to get the youth off the streets and into the boxing gym. He taught persevearance, determination, discipline, and teamwork. He taught the meaning of being a family. He taught community service. He taught how to fight through difficulties, to win like champions, and lose like good sportsmen. And he also taught boxing.
Prior to the building becomming a boxing gym, it was a small neighborhood church built over 100 years ago. The words "Working for Jesus" are still written on the back wall, right behind the heavy bags. Bruce ran his club with the virtue of a church: the rules were no cursing in the gym, and no fighting outside the gym. Bruce expected us to uphold a standard of good citizenship.
I joined the club as I was entering Mary Baldwin College. During my 6 years boxing there, Bruce became one of the most influential mentors in my life. The club became my second family, and my sparring partner became my life-long friend. The Staunton Boxing Club didn't only coach boxing - it taught the essentials of life. The lessons I learned there made me a determined and dedicated person. But I learned I was not the only one this gym affected so deeply.
When I learned that Bruce had decided to retire, I was sad to learn that the gym would be sold and possibly closed down forever. As I'm also in the process of starting my own time-consuming business, I knew I couldn't revive this gym alone, so I began to reach out to old teammates, friends, and even those who dedicated themselves to it after I had moved on. I found that the love for this unique boxing club is a common ground among so many from so many walks of life. The people who had been a part of Bruce's vision have gone on to become professionals, coaches, veterans, nurses, businessmen, loving parents, but most importantly, they have become contributors to a better world.
There has been overwhelming support from people interested in keeping this gym alive. In the spirit of Bruce's original mission, I would like to initiate returning the Staunton Boxing Club to its original cause of training youth in the art of boxing. I would like for the Staunton Boxing Club to maintain its place in the city as a community-oriented facility by registering it as a non-profit, amateur boxing club, restoring the structure, and reviving the heart and soul of this once-mighty cause.
This process will be somewhat lengthy and costly, and in my few short days of broad research, this is the basic breakdown of the cost analysis and timeline:
To Make This Happen
Within 6 months:
-$45,000 - Puchase of real property
-$6,500 - Application for 501(c)3 non-profit status, business registration fees, licensure with the boxing league, legal fees, and insurance
-$500 - First year property taxes
Any community assistance from lawyers or insurance providers regarding the 501(c)3 or insurance would be greatly appreciated and your business will be promoted on our T-shirts!
Wish List
Within 1 Year:
-$10,000 - 15,000 - New Roof
-$6,000 - 10,000 - All New Electrical
-$10,000 - 35,000 - Finished Basement
-$3,000-7,000 - Dry Wall
-$10,000 - 15,000 - New Bathrooms/Showers
-$10,000 - 12,000 New Windows
-$5,000-11,000 All New Plumbing
-$1,500 - 4,000 New Lighting
-$800.00 - Tankless Water Heater
-$17,000 - Reinforced Flooring/Heavy bag joists
-$5,000 - 10,000 - Foundational Repairs
These are only online market-value estimates and not estimates from actual contractors. If you are a local community contractor, and would like to donate any of the above improvements, Staunton Boxing Club will promote your local business on our T-shirts!
To keep with the community spirit of this effort, it will be run and managed as a non-profit club with a board of directors. We will attempt to make the gym self-sustaining, in which the money earned pays for the cost of operating the gym and training the registered amateur boxers (who will not be expected to pay). We will do this in the following ways:
-Offer adult classes
-Host community "smokers"
-Local business sponorships
-Host community fundraisers (Fun Runs, Fitness Days)
-Community work projects (Bruce used to gather some of us to assist with basic needs like lawn mowing, leaf raking, snow shoveling for community members - and in turn people would donate to the gym)
-Additionally, we will apply for scholarships and grants as well as rely on community donations.
This project feels so important to me, and I truly believe the efforts will pay off tenfold within our community. Thank you in advance for believing in this mission and doing what you can to preserve this community icon. From all of us who have once loved this gym, its coach, and the memories made there - Thank You.
If this project does not work out, all money raised will be donated to the Virginia Amateur Boxing League.
The Staunton Boxing Club has been a community icon in our historical town of Staunton, Virginia for almost 20 years. When Bruce Frank opened the gym, he had a vision in mind to get the youth off the streets and into the boxing gym. He taught persevearance, determination, discipline, and teamwork. He taught the meaning of being a family. He taught community service. He taught how to fight through difficulties, to win like champions, and lose like good sportsmen. And he also taught boxing.
Prior to the building becomming a boxing gym, it was a small neighborhood church built over 100 years ago. The words "Working for Jesus" are still written on the back wall, right behind the heavy bags. Bruce ran his club with the virtue of a church: the rules were no cursing in the gym, and no fighting outside the gym. Bruce expected us to uphold a standard of good citizenship.
I joined the club as I was entering Mary Baldwin College. During my 6 years boxing there, Bruce became one of the most influential mentors in my life. The club became my second family, and my sparring partner became my life-long friend. The Staunton Boxing Club didn't only coach boxing - it taught the essentials of life. The lessons I learned there made me a determined and dedicated person. But I learned I was not the only one this gym affected so deeply.
When I learned that Bruce had decided to retire, I was sad to learn that the gym would be sold and possibly closed down forever. As I'm also in the process of starting my own time-consuming business, I knew I couldn't revive this gym alone, so I began to reach out to old teammates, friends, and even those who dedicated themselves to it after I had moved on. I found that the love for this unique boxing club is a common ground among so many from so many walks of life. The people who had been a part of Bruce's vision have gone on to become professionals, coaches, veterans, nurses, businessmen, loving parents, but most importantly, they have become contributors to a better world.
There has been overwhelming support from people interested in keeping this gym alive. In the spirit of Bruce's original mission, I would like to initiate returning the Staunton Boxing Club to its original cause of training youth in the art of boxing. I would like for the Staunton Boxing Club to maintain its place in the city as a community-oriented facility by registering it as a non-profit, amateur boxing club, restoring the structure, and reviving the heart and soul of this once-mighty cause.
This process will be somewhat lengthy and costly, and in my few short days of broad research, this is the basic breakdown of the cost analysis and timeline:
To Make This Happen
Within 6 months:
-$45,000 - Puchase of real property
-$6,500 - Application for 501(c)3 non-profit status, business registration fees, licensure with the boxing league, legal fees, and insurance
-$500 - First year property taxes
Any community assistance from lawyers or insurance providers regarding the 501(c)3 or insurance would be greatly appreciated and your business will be promoted on our T-shirts!
Wish List
Within 1 Year:
-$10,000 - 15,000 - New Roof
-$6,000 - 10,000 - All New Electrical
-$10,000 - 35,000 - Finished Basement
-$3,000-7,000 - Dry Wall
-$10,000 - 15,000 - New Bathrooms/Showers
-$10,000 - 12,000 New Windows
-$5,000-11,000 All New Plumbing
-$1,500 - 4,000 New Lighting
-$800.00 - Tankless Water Heater
-$17,000 - Reinforced Flooring/Heavy bag joists
-$5,000 - 10,000 - Foundational Repairs
These are only online market-value estimates and not estimates from actual contractors. If you are a local community contractor, and would like to donate any of the above improvements, Staunton Boxing Club will promote your local business on our T-shirts!
To keep with the community spirit of this effort, it will be run and managed as a non-profit club with a board of directors. We will attempt to make the gym self-sustaining, in which the money earned pays for the cost of operating the gym and training the registered amateur boxers (who will not be expected to pay). We will do this in the following ways:
-Offer adult classes
-Host community "smokers"
-Local business sponorships
-Host community fundraisers (Fun Runs, Fitness Days)
-Community work projects (Bruce used to gather some of us to assist with basic needs like lawn mowing, leaf raking, snow shoveling for community members - and in turn people would donate to the gym)
-Additionally, we will apply for scholarships and grants as well as rely on community donations.
This project feels so important to me, and I truly believe the efforts will pay off tenfold within our community. Thank you in advance for believing in this mission and doing what you can to preserve this community icon. From all of us who have once loved this gym, its coach, and the memories made there - Thank You.
If this project does not work out, all money raised will be donated to the Virginia Amateur Boxing League.
Organizer
Amy Swope
Organizer
Staunton, VA
