Toledo is a tough city, particularly for inner-city teenagers. One in four of Toledo’s residents live below poverty level. Violent crime is more than twice the national average. Toledo is home to more than 3,000 gang members. Our inner-city youth are most at risk from these dire statistics—disadvantaged barely begins to describe their lives.
Hope, Help and Safe Haven
The Institute for Building Careers gives at-risk youth hope, help, and a safe haven to learn skills they need to succeed. Our disciplined programs provide underprivileged youth with free academic assistance, life skills, service-learning activities, and vocational training.
Adult and youth leaders, mentors, tutors, and vocational professionals guide at-risk youth. They offer hands-on job training. They help build self-confidence and self-esteem. Given a chance and someone who believes in them, these at-risk youth work hard and begin to believe in themselves. IBC helps our community’s underprivileged youth become champions in school, the community, and the workforce. The IBC youth are champions in life. That is why the International Boxing Club created the Institute for Building Careers.
Measuring Up
More than 4,000 youth have participated in IBC’s after-school learning programs since 1998.
IBC is committed to reaching those hardest to reach. Each year, at least 150 youth (60% African American, 21% Caucasian, 11% 11% Hispanic, and 8% multiracial) under-served at-risk youth between 8-23 years of age come to IBC.
When IBC began, about 75% of our youth were failing in school. That’s rarely the case today….and if a teenager gets a failing grade, we offer tutors and assistance to help him succeed.
Feedback from Our Youth
“…We need the learning center, the workouts and these programs. For a lot of us just the learning center alone keeps are grades up. Our workouts give us confidence in ourselves and a sense of accomplishment on a daily basis. Every last single one of our members needs at least one of the programs this gym offers, in some form or another. We need them because they are the programs that set us apart from everyone else and pushes us above regular athletes. Some of us would be truly lost without the guidance you provide Coach, as well as the example you set. You’re always behind us Coach and we just want to say, we’re behind you too Coach!…” - IBC Youth Members
Success Stories
We measure success in numbers,
but we also measure it in people…
Meet Trayvone Mathis, he’s learning how to build a house and wants to become an architect. It’s a far cry from a few years ago when struggles with his broken family led to stealing, gangs, and all the wrong choices.
And there’s Kelly Boucha, a shy teenager who came to IBC more than five years ago and lacked self-confidence. But we saw her potential. With the help of some great IBC mentors and tutors, Kelly graduates this May with a degree in criminal justice from the University of Toledo. She’s also a part-time Peer Mentor at IBC.
And kudos to Cody Houghtalling, he made the biggest turn-around of all of our youth membership. Cody graduated with honors from Waite High School and attends the University of Toledo as a pharmacy major. He is a part-time Life Skills Coach, Captain of Photography and a full-time success story.
We have a lot more stories like Trayvone’s, Kelly’s, and Cody’s to share. IBC took the time to show them the right way through the right people. In our eyes, they are champions in life.