Battling to rebuild families and lives

Battling to rebuild families and lives

A charity working with Cantabrian families who find themselves on the ropes has been selected as a recipient of Christchurch’s premier boxing event.

The Canterbury Youth Development Programme Trust (CYDP) is one of two charity recipients for the upcoming Battle of the Rebuild, billed as the largest construction event to hit New Zealand.

“It’s a great match”, CYDP CEO Mike Field says. “These construction guys are doing a great job repairing and rebuilding our city, while CYDP supports young Cantabrians and their families to rebuild themselves and their lives. They do the physical infrastructure – we do the social stuff”.

Field himself fought in the first Fight for Youth event in 2010 and has nothing but praise for the event.

“It’s not at all about brutality and violence,” he says. “It is about challenging yourself, setting a huge goal and working really hard to achieve it. I can tell you from my own experience that getting your body physically fit, your mind in the right place and trusting your support crew and coaches is an extraordinary experience. I personally thoroughly enjoyed it and was proud the end result was my contribution to a worthy charity.

“We teach the young guys we work with that if they can dream it, they can do it. It’s the same with the contenders, fighting in the ring - overcoming fear, pushing through all sorts of barriers and negative thought patterns. Plus it’s a great night out and supports local charities.”

Event Director Justin Wallace was impressed with the programmes CYDP has in place to help youth in Christchurch. Wallace says, “Our events are about raising the profile of our charities along with raising money to assist them. We are pleased to be working with an organisation that does great work in our community.”

The Battle of the Rebuild will be held on Friday, 2nd May in the CBS Arena. CYDP is a registered charity, working with young people and their families to make positive life choices.

www.cydp.org.nz

ENDS

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