DETROIT (WXYZ) — Amazon announced it plans to donate more than $300,000 to help fund youth sports. Fourteen local nonprofit organizations in the city of Detroit are the beneficiaries.
The company announced the endeavor on its Prime Day.
Downtown Boxing Gym, one of the recipients, said the money will really help since it takes funds to operate and pay staff. Additionally, the opportunity gives access to new equipment.
CEO and Founder Khali Sweeney said it's ultimately about keeping kids on the right path to make something of themselves.
"It's trying times for everybody, but for them to step up in a major way and donate cash... not only cash but other resources that could be used, I mean, it was a major thing," Sweeney told 7 Action News.
He said his gym's name tells only a fraction of what impact the organization has on the community.
"The name is Downtown Boxing Gym, but we do so much more. We do literacy, literacy intervention. We do math intervention. We also do sports sampling. We do health and wellness. We do mentorships," he explained.
Sweeney said coding and the STEAM lab are also available. While sport may be the kids' initial draw to the gym, Sweeney said the funds from Amazon further help shape their future.
He said the gym has a waiting list of about 1,600 kids.
"But there's no waiting list in the streets. There's no waiting list at the county morgue. There's no waiting list at that county jail, but there's a waiting list for organizations like this," Sweeney said. "It shouldn't be, and so when you get somebody to step up like this, this help alleviate that problem. It helps get some of these kids off that waiting list and give them a safe place to go."
Amazon announced its donation at the gym on Prime Day. All 14 organizations are listed below:
- Arab American and Chaldean Council Youth Center
- Athletes Without Limits
- Downtown Boxing Gym
- Derrick Coleman Foundation
- Future Star Guards Basketball
- Jim Dandy Ski Club
- Michigan Lady Playmakers
- Midnight Golf Program
- Pervis Jackson Jr. Autism Foundation
- Quinn Road Tarheels
- Razor Aquatics
- The Arc Detroit
- Wendell Brown Youth Empowerment
- Westside Cubs Youth Football
