Crowdfunding campaign launched to find permanent home for Nottingham School of Boxing
Marcellus Baz coaching in the Nottingham School of Boxing.
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Video: Marcellus Baz speaks to Notts TV’s Anna Butler about the crowdfunding campaign
A crowdfunding campaign has been launched to find a permanent home for the Nottingham School of Boxing.
Launched on Sunday (January 8) night on the Crowdfunder website by Nottingham charity Switch Up’s founder Marcellus Baz, also known as Baz, the school wants to raise £450,000 to buy the Pakistan Centre in St Ann’s.
The school currently resides in the centre’s basement on a six month lease after being forced out of its original home at the Sycamore Millennium Centre, also in St Ann’s, over tenancy issues.
Baz said: “We want that permanent security where we don’t have to keep looking over our shoulder and thinking ‘we’ve got to find somewhere else.’
“Things have been chaotic since we had to move out of the Sycamore Centre; over the festive period we’ve had to look around a load of different places to relocate.
“I suffered with a lot of anxiety as I wanted to make sure that we’ve got somewhere for young people to go; it’s really important to have continuity and consistency for them.
“It was difficult because you didn’t know what was at the end of the tunnel as it was so dark but we luckily found this centre after discussions with the manager.”
Video: Marcellus Baz’s School of Boxing
The school was set up to steer young people away from crime and to take part in boxing and other sports.
Because of his work, Marcellus Baz received a British Empire Medal in the Queen’s New Year Honours and also received the BBC Sports Personality’s Unsung Hero of the Year award in December 2016.
He also met sport celebrities who said that they gave the club their backing.
Baz said: “I spoke to Ryan Giggs and he said he was interested in coming down and doing some talks for us.
“Nicola Adams is also hoping to come at some point and visit the club and be a patron.
“We really received a phenomenal amount of support and Jason Kenny and Laura Trott had kinds words for what we do too.”
In 2016, Baz also travelled to some of the favelas in Brazil and took part in an international conference which tackled the issue of gang violence.
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