ALERT!
On Thursday night, come one, come all, gather together to watch brave warriors battle it out…for a supremely good cause.
At the Broad St Ballroom, Thursday, Nov. 21, at 7 PM ET, in Manhattan, willing souls will trade leather, and raise funds for the Give A Kid a Dream charity, which through the oversight of Bruce Silverglade, of Gleason's Gym in DUMBO, Brooklyn, has raised more than $1.25 million for children who benefit mightily from a hand up.
Click here to buy tix.
NYF well knows one of the people who will glove up Thursday. Dr. Johnny Lops was proudly born and raised in Brooklyn, NY and is a practicing Adult and Child Psychiatrist in New York City. I asked him why he's doing this.
“Why am I doing it? – the simple answer; boxing is my favorite sport and I have also admired the skill and fitness necessary to be a fighter,” Lops said. “Before I began training for an actual fight I was able to do some of those “fitness boxing classes” without breaking a sweat… but none of it prepares you for three rounds of sparring. No correlation and I loved that. After the 2013 marathon I felt athletically it would be my next achievement. There’s a ton of personal and family reasons as well, like any boxer, but simply I wanted the challenge!”
And what does he hope to get out of the experience? “To continue my story of ‘don’t judge a book by its cover.' I don’t look like a fighter, I don’t act the stereotype type of a fighter but I continue to prove to the world and myself anything is possible with enough dedication and work ethic,” Lops said. “It meant a lot that even my trainer at the end of training camp said I should be proud even being as prepared for the fight as I am. He is alluding to all the sparring, the punches taken, and to have shown the mental endurance to persevere and improve to be ready for Thursday night! It’s a dream and privilege to get a small sense of what my heroes and the pros go through in the ring.”
Here is some info from the organizers, telling you more about the cause:
At Gleason's Give a Kid a Dream we are obsessed with the sport of boxing and its ability to not only help our young challenged youth but as a vehicle by which we can help so many other great charities.
We have facilitated the donations to nonprofits in the area of Verteran Support, Living with Cancer, Dog Rescue,Retired Boxers, food for the poor, for better Life Parkensen Boxers and other similar youth development programs in the amount of $432,540:
Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation
Team Rubicon
Semper Fi Fund
Wounded Warriors
Occupy Cancer
Rocksteady Boxing
Ring 8
The Sato Project
Children's Community Programs of Ct.
Hope For Warriors
NY Cares
We have built a bridge to college or trade school for over 500 young people with specialized tutoring to develop better Math, English, and History grades. We've promoted successful life skills through mentoring interactions, and of course we've taught them all to box.
As a reward for the over 500 participants who have been successful in improving their grades and maintaining good attendance, we've taken them to boxing summer camp in the Catskills.
We sincerely thank you for your support, time and consideration.
You Can Still Sponsor A fighter!!
$500 to announce the boxer and your company or family.
Donations are tax deductible.
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