Gloves Up, Knives Down

Delivery line manager, Phil Reid, from West 5 Delivery Office in Newcastle, was featured in the North East Chronicle for the incredible work he does helping to tackle gangs and knife crime.

Phil is the chairman and head coach of Grainger Park Boxing Club, which has teamed-up with London-based organisation, Gloves Up Knives Down to launch the Off the Streets campaign, which uses boxing as a way to save young people from a life of crime.

‘It's not just about boxing,’ Phil told the newspaper. ‘We want to try and help to make a difference. It's about giving people a chance and showing that there is another path they can take, and educating them to take the right path.’

Gloves Up Knives Down is a social enterprise committed to supporting young people living in communities affected by knife crime, providing access to boxing training to help them lead fulfilling and healthy lives away from crime.

It was founded earlier this year in Hackney in east London by Paul Kavanagh, who said: ‘The original intention was to use boxing as a path to get the kids out of gangs and into education and employment. I was going into estates in Hackney and teaching the kids to box and they were loving it.

‘When I was seeing what was going on in London and seeing these young kids killing each other I just thought; “I must be able to do something”.’

Following his success in the capital Paul wanted to extend his work across the UK and began contacting boxing clubs across the country asking them if they would be willing to open their doors free of charge to young people, for at least two hours a week.

‘It's about encouraging amateur boxing clubs to enrol in my project,’ added Paul. ‘Grainger Park was very keen.’

Phil believes boxing and other sporting clubs can reach young people in a way that parents and teachers sometimes can't.

‘The first step is to get people through the doors,’ he said. ‘It’s an environment where people can come and feel safe. We get parents bringing their kids down saying, “I can’t get through to them at home, but they listen to you.”

Phil was presented with a ‘Be Part of It’ North East award at a recent regional manager’s event (pictured with West 5 delivery office manager, Graeme Miller).