A community sports group based in Norbury Park is having its boxing gym fitted out by property maintenance firm Wates as a “social value initiative”.
Stepping into the ring: Gloves Not Gunz is benefiting from an initiative with the building firm
Gloves Not Gunz is a boxing club which aims to prevent and divert young people from crime and anti-social behaviour by tackling violence through sport.
Wates has pledged to refurbish the Gloves Not Gunz gym to provide new lighting, heaters and shower and toilet facilities.
The company has also committed to accept applications from members interested in work experience and internships, with one gym member due to be enrolled as the first intern.
Wates, one of the country’s leading development, building and property maintenance companies, has a significant business presence in Croydon having been appointed by the Government Property Agency to carry out the fit-out of 2 Ruskin Square, at East Croydon, the new 10-storey office block for the Home Office.
Due to complete this September, 2 Ruskin Square will bring civil servants from three existing locations in Croydon to one centralised hub.
Gloves Not Gunz is among the first community groups to benefit from Wates’ social initiative being conducted while working on Ruskin Square.
Marc Rice, the building services manager at Wates, has been attending training sessions at the club, sharing the story of his own boxing career and the positive impact it has had on both his personal and professional development.
Other community activities by Wates include mock interviews with Croydon Careers, offering work experience to a T-Level student at the Ruskin Square site, as well as mentoring young people through another Croydon youth charity, Lives Not Knives, to provide workplace advice.
Park life: from the left Jerome Henry-McLean, Wates’s Marc Rice, Meshach Adam and Adam Ballard, the co-founder of Gloves Not Gunz, outside the gym in Norbury
“Our team has worked incredibly hard so far to provide the greatest benefit to the local community,” said Scott Camp, Wates’s managing director of their fit-out and refurbishment operation.
“As a family business, it’s important to us that we support young and vulnerable people by providing mentoring and work experience, and we’ll continue to provide opportunities as we progress our work on site.
“We want to leave a lasting positive legacy in Croydon that extends beyond the end of our works at Ruskin Square and our work within the community will allow us to do so.”
Adam Ballard, a co-founder of Gloves Not Gunz, said: “As a club, we’re always seeking opportunities to enable our young members to make positive changes in their lives. We’re incredibly grateful to Marc and the rest of the Wates team for their generosity in time and their commitment to mentoring our members.
“Community enrichment programmes have a real and lasting impact on young people’s lives and I look forward to continuing our partnership with Wates and seeing the development of our members as they explore the opportunities presented to them.”
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ROTTEN BOROUGH AWARDS: In January 2024, Croydon was named among the country’s rottenest boroughs for a SEVENTH successive year in the annual round-up of civic cock-ups in Private Eye magazine
Just waiting for a comment from our Green candidate decrying this great initiative as it’s provided by a ‘profit-hungry’ private developer.
Old Town Youth Cluc much appreciated Wates redecorating their Sports Hall with Wates Staff doing their Community Support Day 10 years ago.