When Kolmarge Harris got into some trouble as a kid, he found his way back on track through boxing and the community around the sport who took him under their wing. Now that he has been a professional boxer for 10 years, he wants to give back to the community who supported him. That’s why he started
Lansing Spartans Youth Organization.
“When I got older I started boxing and learning the techniques and turned my whole life around,” says Harris. “Now that I have the power in my hands to reach out to my community, I wanted to do something for the youth.”
Harris began LSYO in 2010, but recently moved the nonprofit into the Capitol City Boxing and MMA on South Cedar. Though Harris is currently charging a fee for kids to participate, he hopes to support the organization through grants in the future, so participation can be free.
Harris has had offers to begin a chapter of LSYO in Las Vegas, but he is committed to getting his local operations going first.
“I want to start here, in my community,” Harris says. “I want to be here until my sons are old enough to take over.”
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