Ring of Hope gym helps kids beat the odds

Fernando Hernandez is a very determined boy who trains at Dallas Leadership
Foundation’s Ring of Hope Boxing Club every day. After learning about the club from his
mother, Fernando took up boxing and fell in love with the sport. Since then the gym has
become a second home for him as he learns boxing techniques, discipline, and perseverance.

Fernando’s perseverance paid off when he won his first Ringside World Tournament
Championship title in Kansas City, Mo. After first losing the match the prior year, he was
determined to win the next time.

Fernando is also an eighth-grade student at J. L. Long Middle School in East Dallas and
shows the same discipline with his studies that he does with boxing. Every day he goes
home to first complete his homework before he goes to the gym. Fernando understands
the value of DLF’s Ring of Hope Club and stated, “A lot of kids out there are doing nothing
…the Ring of Hope gym provides an opportunity for kids to accomplish something… it
means a lot to us.”