A few weeks ago, my team and I vaccinated at the Bloc. As we walked around the facility, I was immediately intrigued by the organization - the Bloc opened their gym (otherwise known as "The Sanctuary") back in 2020 and is a safe space for kids to come after school for tutoring, mentorship, and boxing sessions. I ended up connecting with Amy, one of the assistants, and signed up to tutor every week. My first week at the Bloc consisted of connected with the kids; usually, the first hour consists of making sure everyone gets a snack and checking in with them. We spend an hour helping with homework and then the second hour is dedicated to actual boxing. This is where things get really fun and usually the boxing instructor pairs us up and we go through a variety of warm-ups and drills and use the time to just really connect with our partners.
For the past two weeks, I've gotten to know Kathleen, a young junior high school girl that has been my boxing buddy. It's been awesome to have her coach me through some of the various boxing moves and to work with her. For me, I'm so thankful that this space exists - I kinda wish something like this had been available to me as a little girl because oftentimes I came home during my elementary/junior high school days to an empty and dark house. I really want to commit to coming to the Bloc weekly and just be present with the kids. I think that's what I wanted as a little girl - an older mentor figure that was just available and present. But wait, now that I think about it, I guess the Lord totally provided because he sent Pastor Hea Bin into my life during my high school years, and I recognize that much of my own personal growth and healing has been due to her love and influence in my life. Anyways, I'm so glad that I found out about this non-profit and I'm excited to get more involved.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/27/us/cnnheroes-jamyle-cannon-the-bloc/index.html
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