Meet today’s BCG Charity Spotlight: Crushers Club – Restoring the Path, Rebuilding the Streets of Chicago, IL. In 2014 Chicago led the nation in gang activity with over 150,000 gang members.In recent years Chicago has made a dramatic leap to overcome Los Angeles as America’s gang capital with a staggering 150,000 gang members and sadly many consider it to be one of the most violent cities in the country. In fact, Chicago recorded 425 murders in 2014 alone, a shocking number yes, but there is good news in the fact that it actually represented a decrease from the 532 murders in Chicago in 2012. What’s worse, according to city law enforcement agencies, 80 percent of all shootings and murders in Chicago are gang related.
In the Englewood area of Chicago, in 2014 there were 49 gang related homicides and 259 victims of gun violence. As a result the Englewood community had almost 100 more shootings than any other community in the city. I have always believed and still do that our greatest chance for social change resolves in the people willing to serve in their individual communities, thats why I love what Crushers Club is doing.
The mission of Restoring the Path Crushers Club is to be the strongest alternative to gangs by providing the support and tools needed to restore their lives and rebuild their communities. This innovative model was created in Englewood in 2011 and grew out of lessons learned from over a decade of experience with gang affiliated and youth involved in the criminal justice system via probation. Founded by Executive Director Sally Hazelgrove, the organization primarily serves residents from the Englewood neighborhood who are male youth, ages 7-18, and are engaged or affiliated with gang activity, and or at risk of becoming involved in the juvenile justice system. Crushers Club uses boxing and music as platforms to restore youth to a path of maturity safety and empowerment. They are a second family and operate year round Monday through Friday and many Saturdays.
Founded in 2011, RTP became a 501c3 in 2012 and later that year won the Project Impact -A Better Chicago Competition for our model to redirect juveniles versus incarcerate them. This enabled the organization to open their first site, Crushers Club, in 2013. In 2014, they received the Poder Award for Social Impact and the Make it Better Philanthropy Award for Athletics. The nonprofit arms young people with the support and skills they need to restore their lives and improve their neighborhood. Crushers Club is rooted in four ideals—respect, discipline, ownership, and love—that give our members a fighting chance. There are tons of ways you can get involved with this organization and we encourage you to so. Follow them on Twitter @crushersclub, Like them on Facebook
and visit them online at to donate and learn how you can get involved as a volunteer!
