HUNTINGTON PARK : Boxing Club Dodges a Knockout Punch

Huntington Park’s amateur boxing program--ever tenuous and poorly funded but very popular among city youths--survived a tough round at last week’s City Council meeting.

Following the surprise resignation at the Monday meeting of club manager Josie Arrey and persuasive testimony by the boxing club’s board of directors, the City Council decided not to cancel its $3,000-per month funding of the club.

“We showed the council that we could run the club efficiently, like a business,” said board chairman Rudy Griego.

Instead of axing the program as city staff recommended, the council also chose to review the club’s finances month-to-month to determine if it is aggressively courting its own funds.

The program receives all of its funding from the city through a $2.1-million federal Community Development Block Grant. The grant, given to the city last year by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, allows the city to spend up to 15% of the money on such social programs as day care for children of working parents and after-school programs such as the boxing club.

Community Development Director Jack Wong said spending on such services has reached 14.9% of the grant. “We’re right on the border so we have to watch very carefully how much we spend. Some cities spend zero percent on social programs.”

Last year, spending for the club, which has two part-time employees, was halved from $70,000 to $35,000.

Following an August inspection of the club, the council decided to withdraw funding if the club did not raise funds more efficiently and draw more city residents as members. The inspection found that 16 of the club’s 31 members lived outside the city. Since June, the club has required monthly fees of $10 for non-residents and $6 for each additional family member.

Wong said that the federal grant stipulates that the majority of the club members must live in the city. Now, 18 of the club’s 25 members are city residents, Arrey said.

“We’re planning on getting even more kids involved by offering aerobics and other types of martial arts classes,” Griego said.

The board this month changed the name of the club to the Greater Huntington Park Youth and Community Services Program in an effort to broaden the club’s appeal. To boost membership, the board is also considering offering citizenship and English as a second language classes at the club, Griego said.

The club also is seeking donations from area businesses. Next month board members plan to solicit via mail an annual donation of $146 or more from businesses in Huntington Park, South Gate, Bell and other communities.

“The idea is that for as little as 40 cents per day--less than the price of a cup of coffee--businesses can support a program that keeps kids away from trouble after school,” said Griego. The board also has planned a Jan. 26 benefit dinner for the boxing program at Diana’s Restaurant in Huntington Park.

Started in 1987 by the Police Department, the club quickly gained a reputation as a prime training spot for amateur champs.

Last year, it produced two national Golden Gloves champions--Salvador Casillas, 18, in the flyweight division, and Jose Hernandez, 14, in the middleweight division. Both are Huntington Park residents.

Arrey, 43, who has been with the club since its inception seven years ago, cited the combined difficulty of coaching budding boxers and frantically searching for funds as one of the main reasons for her resignation, which is effective Dec. 31.

“When the city took money away from the club last year, that was wrong,” said Arrey, who plans to continue working with young boxers in a separate Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department program. “It’s hard to juggle worrying about money and the kids’ safety at the same time.”