Always on
This project successfully funded on 17th January 2026, you can still support them with a donation.
#GlovesNotBlades Fighting Knife Crime with Boxing
Portsmouth, United Kingdom
Aim
Too many young lives are lost to knives — help us expand our gym and give them hope through #GlovesNotBlades.
We are Artful Dodgers Boxing Academy —but to the young people who walk through our doors, we’re much more than a boxing club.
We’re a lifeline.
We’re a second family.
We’re a place where broken kids find belief, where lost souls find direction, and where anger turns into ambition.
Every week, we see what knife crime is doing to our community.
We’ve lost friends, we’ve seen fear in parents’ eyes, and we’ve watched too many young lives end before they even had a chance to begin.
That’s why we created #GlovesNotBlades — a campaign born from love, heartbreak, and hope.
We’re not politicians or millionaires.
We’re coaches, parents, and volunteers — people who care deeply about saving the next generation.
We know boxing won’t solve every problem, but we’ve seen what it can do.
It gives young people belonging. It gives them purpose. It gives them pride.
When they step into our gym, they leave the streets behind — and they find something worth fighting for.
Our Vision
Our dream is simple but powerful:
To give every young person a safe place to go, and a reason to stay off the streets.
Right now, our gym is full to the brim. We’re bursting at the seams. Every week, kids turn up wanting to join — kids who need help, guidance, and structure — and we have to tell them we have no space left.
It breaks our hearts. Because every young person we can’t reach could be one more name in the news.
That’s why we’re raising £250,000 — to expand our premises, to build a bigger, safer, and stronger space where every child has a chance to grow, train, and belong
How We’ll Use the Funds
Your support will allow us to:
🥊 Build a new gym extension so no child has to be turned away.
👥 Create a mentoring hub where young people can talk, learn, and heal.
🏠 Offer free and subsidised memberships for families who can’t afford them.
📢 Expand our #GlovesNotBlades campaign into schools, communities, and streets that need it most.
🎽 Invest in youth development, discipline, and respect — the foundations of a better future.
Why It Matters
This isn’t just about boxing.
This is about saving lives before they’re lost.
It’s about showing young people that they matter — that someone believes in them, even when the world doesn’t.
Every donation you give, big or small, helps us keep a kid off the streets, out of danger, and on the path to something better.
When you support this project, you’re not just funding a gym — you’re giving hope, you’re changing lives, and you’re becoming part of something that really matters.
Because together, we can turn blades into gloves.
We can turn fear into pride.
And we can give our young people the future they deserve.
Join us. Stand with us. Believe with us.
#GlovesNotBlades 💛🥊
How you can play your part
There are four simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this project a reality.
1. Make a pledge. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success!
2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.
3. Offer rewards. Get involved if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out!
4. Fundraise for us. If you want to run your own fundraiser – maybe a sponsored activity or similar – use the 'contact project' button at the top of our page to let us know. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made