POST January/February 2015

As St. Martin Boxing Club’s practice
nears its end, the rhythmic thud
of boxing gloves popping against
sparring mitts fades. So does the scraping
of sneakers against the pavement behind School
No. 7, where the club trains Monday through
Thursday evenings until it secures a permanent
home.
Standing on the sidewalk, St. Martin’s
coordinator, Don Simkin, collects gloves and
headgear from the boxers, who range in age from
6 to 25. Simkin stuffs the equipment into a Swisscheese-like
plastic garbage bag, but it sneaks out
the other side. “I guess it’s time for a new bag,”
Simkin, 73, says jokingly.
A tight budget isn’t anything new for Simkin,
who helped establish the club in 1969 to serve
as a positive influence on Rochester’s youth,
particularly those from challenging social and
economic backgrounds.
“It’s a struggle,” Simkin says. He estimates
he and his wife contribute about half of St.
Martin’s $20,000 annual operational cost. “I try to
do everything cheap. We get what we get.”
The day’s practice may be over, but the job
of Simkin, a retired probation officer, and his
coaching staff isn’t done until all of his boxers get
home safely. That often means they return home
the way they got to practice: the van Simkin
drives.
“That’s one of our major expenses,” he says,
explaining transportation to and from practice
costs about $15 to $20 a day.
All of the coaches sacrifice time and money
to help the boxers, says Jose Collazo, a coach
for St. Martin since 1995, who became its
primary boxing coach a year ago. The rest of the
funds for the club come from small donations
and from revenue generated by ticket sales for its
boxing shows. Simkin says, most of the time the
shows barely break even.
St. Martin could turn to grants for help, but
Simkin has neither applied for nor received a
government grant. “It’s tough for people to spend
$20,000 to run a program for high-risk kids,” he
says. “... Most grants don’t have any interest in
recreation. People underestimate the value of a
medium, such as recreational activities, to teach
basic values.”
Simkin, a Quaker, says his faith has led him
to a life of service. “My goal is to serve God
and mankind. The worst kind of idolatry is selfworship,”
he says. St. Martin tries to work with
parents, agencies, and schools to be a positive
influence in the community.
“It’s really difficult with single parents trying to
raise a kid,” Simkin says. “We’re not special. We
just want to pitch in and help.”
Although St. Martin, which is open to boys
and girls, has produced some of the area’s
best boxers—18 different national Silver Gloves
champions since 1983 and professionals Robert
“Pushup” Frazier and Charles “The Natural”
Mike Martinez
Issue 9 January / February 2015 | POST 41