Anyone can open a gym. Not everyone builds a family. After more than 50 years, Victor Banks knows exactly what separates a program that changes lives from one that just fills time slots.

In 1972 Earnest "Champ" Cabbler opened the doors of a boxing gym in Northwest Roanoke with one belief - that every young person deserves a fighting chance. More than fifty years later those doors are still open.

Youth boxing teaches more than fighting. At Champ's Gym in Roanoke, Virginia we teach discipline, respect, and mental toughness - the life skills young people carry with them long after they leave the gym floor.

Gun violence prevention does not happen in a conference room. It happens in a gym, on a field, and in the daily presence of adults who show up consistently for young people who need them most. That is what Melrose Athletic Club has been doing since 1972.

Melrose Athletic Club has been giving Roanoke youth a fighting chance since 1972. Now that mission is moving to the football field. M.A.C. Youth Football is open to ages 8 and up - free to join, built on character, and rooted in fifty years of community trust.