Box United utilizes boxing as a pathway for girls to unlock their full potential and become leaders in life. Box United runs the Fight Like a Girl program, a research-backed boxing and leadership development program for Chicago girls, which combines boxing with lessons on physical, mental, and digital well-being to increase girls’ confidence, strength, and self-compassion.
Chicago girls are facing a crisis in physical and mental health. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that one in three teenage girls in the U.S. feels persistently sad and hopeless. In Chicago, a recent University of Chicago study found that 38 percent of teen girls in Chicago Public Schools show signs of PTSD. Simultaneously, 64 percent of girls in the U.S. will have quit sports by the age of 16. In response, the Fight Like a Girl program aims to change the narrative on sports participation and physical and mental health challenges faced by adolescent girls on the South Side of Chicago.
Fight Like a Girl is an all-girls sports program that focuses equally on physical and mental well-being through a research-backed approach, rooted in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Sports-Based-Youth-Development. The Fight Like a Girl program has two components: First, it teaches girls boxing fundamentals and shows them how to train like athletes. Second, Fight Like a Girl runs a Social Emotional Well-being Curriculum designed to help girls establish positive mental health from childhood to adulthood. Sessions are designed by licensed therapists and deliver evidence-based strategies that girls can immediately implement in their lives.
The Girls Opportunity Alliance Fund will support the expansion of Box United’s Fight Like a Girl program into five schools on the South Side of Chicago, serving 25 girls at each school for a total of 125 participants. Boxing can help program participants to build discipline, confidence, and mind-body connection. Box United is ready to help girls in Chicago actualize their highest strength and potential through the power of boxing.
For more information about Box United, please visit the organization’s website and social media page: Instagram
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