Punching Through Barriers: Boxing Toward Economic Mobility

Youth economic advancement

City of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a citywide benefit)

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

Young people in South LA, Watts, Compton, and Inglewood face persistent barriers to employment, including systemic racism, trauma, underfunded schools, and lack of professional networks. Many are disconnected from traditional job pathways and lack access to culturally relevant, trauma-informed support. These conditions contribute to high rates of unemployment and disengagement. Existing workforce programs often overlook mental wellness, leadership development, and lived experience. Without holistic, community-rooted interventions, BIPOC youth continue to face limited opportunity for economic mobility and career success.

ClockedIn’s Punching Through Barriers program integrates non-contact boxing with workforce development to support BIPOC youth ages 14–24 in South LA, Watts, Compton, Inglewood, and beyond. This trauma-informed initiative uses boxing as a culturally relevant entry point to build trust, discipline, and self-confidence while embedding career pathways into every step of engagement.

Participants develop job-ready skills like time management, goal setting, and emotional regulation through structured boxing clinics. At the same time, they access paid internships, industry-recognized certifications (CPR, First Aid, NASM), resume and interview workshops, entrepreneurship coaching, and mentorship from professionals in fitness, business, and sports medicine. Through local partnerships, youth also connect to employment, postsecondary education, and small business resources.

ClockedIn removes barriers by offering all services free of charge, providing transportation and meals, and delivering programming in trusted community locations. By meeting youth where they are and walking with them toward economic opportunity, Punching Through Barriers transforms short-term connection into long-term career success.

When Punching Through Barriers succeeds, young people across LA County, especially Black and Brown youth, will have access to career pathways rooted in trust, culture, and wellness. Youth who once felt disconnected from school and work will become certified, mentored, and employed. Over time, neighborhoods long excluded from opportunity will grow stronger as youth build generational wealth, lead community programs, and model new possibilities for success. By embedding economic mobility in a trauma-informed, community-rooted model, ClockedIn helps shift the narrative for LA youth, from surviving to thriving.