2019 CIIP Program Book CIIP Booklet 2019 | Page 20

Community Partner:
Corner Team Boxing
Intern: Jack Simone
Site Supervisor: Sara Artes
What is Corner Team Boxing?
Corner Team, Inc. uses sports
to engage youth, seniors, and
people with disabilities in a safe
and supportive environment to
build strong minds, bodies, and
communities.
Ducking, pivoting, taking hits and rolling with the punches. Each individual day isn’t all that glamor-
ous, but the goal you’re working towards is glorious. There are times when you make a mistake and
it doesn’t hesitate to hit you in the face, but the next day you come back smarter and more resilient.
Sometimes working at a nonprofit can feel a lot like boxing.
It takes initiative. Watching our head coach Michael this summer taught me that without being proac-
tive and bringing big energy to the issues you want to see changed, nothing will happen. When I first
met out YouthWorks interns and was anxious about whether or not we would get along I just emulated
how Michael teaches his workouts. Bring the energy and show that you want to be there, the rest will
come.
You need to have perseverance. I learned from my boss Sara, who runs Corner Team, that you can’t let
the work get you down. It’s about focusing on the small victories knowing that each day you are moving
closer to accomplishing your goals. I held this with me in moments that just weren’t going my way, and
looking back on what we accomplished in the time that I was working under her - she was right.
The journey would be impossible without the community around you. Just like how boxing in a full gym
gives you the energy to push through a difficult workout, teaching with people who are experts in their
field made it possible to navigate through areas that I have little expertise or experience. Whether it be
educating us on the history of East Baltimore Midway or teaching about good gardening practices, I
am thankful for all of those who lent a hand this summer.
I am so grateful for this summer that I spent at Corner Team. I was immediately welcomed into the
loving family of boxers, coaches and advocates, who all taught me countless lessons over the time I
spent there. I learned how to be more cognizant about how I appear in a space and how to break down
barriers in order to have meaningful conversations about difficult topics. Keeping these lessons with me
has changed how I carry myself and how I interact with others dissimilar to myself. I feel better armed
to face the challenges that lie ahead knowing that the family I made this summer will always be in my
Corner.
• Cleaned out the neighboring alley and turned it into a greenspace
with a raised bed garden.
• Painted, filled, and placed “take a book leave a book” libraries in
the surrounding neighborhoods.
• Worked on weekly STEM projects centered around boxing in order
to teach skills like statistical analysis and problem solving.
• Coached YouthWorks kids and kids from other programs through
fitness programs while teaching them how to track their progress
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