Giving back
through fencing
We are a youth-led and youth-focused non-profit working to help underserved communities using fencing as a developmental tool. Fencing is more than just a sport, it is a way to help nurture the growth of young children.
Fencing
Forward
fencing is About
Leadership
Determination
Resilience
What we do
Fencing is a unique sport that has so many benefits, but many kids (and parents) miss this sport opportunity because it’s not familiar as football, soccer, or baseball.
We want to change this. We want to get into your school or your organization. We want to teach your young kids, in small groups, to fence!
We want the wonderful developmental benefits to apply for all kids. Mostly, we want to make fencing fun and accessible to all young kids who might otherwise not get a chance to.
Through fencing, we want them to learn grit and resilience – truly fighting for a cause!
We want them to understand what it means to help, and for them to see and feel the impact of giving back.
you ask Why?
Living in the city, you often hear two things that affect kids – Youth Crime and Youth Mental Health. To keep kids positively engaged, learn soft skills and develop critical thinking, having them play sports is great.
However:
- What if you’re that kid who doesn’t like traditional sports such as basketball, football, or soccer?
- What if you did not know anything about fencing?
- What if your child tried it, liked it, but you found it’s too expensive?
This is more than an inspired school service requirement. This has become more than just a cause. This is about helping kids! This is about helping our community!
Our Mission:
Fencing Forward (formerly Youth Fencing Chicago) was created because we recognize that fencing is a unique sport that can have tremendous impact on kid’s mind and how they think. We see this as an opportunity to use fencing as a developmental tool to help the kids in Chicago communities who would normally not get a chance to benefit from this sport. Fencing Forward is youth-led and youth-focused and will work with schools and organizations in Chicago to assist them with resources and access to fencing.
Our Supporters
Fencing Forward’s grassroots ability to support transformative changes in local youths depends heavily on the generosity of donors, organizations, and foundations. We want to thank the following people and organizations who have contributed to our efforts :
- Anonymous
- The Vu-Nguyen Family
- The Elterman Family
- The O’Donnell Family
- The Beckman Family
- The Dhal Family
- The Compton Family
- Samira, Thomas, Lena and Noah
- Tristan, Armand, and Cassian
- Marie Fioramonti and Grayson Holmbeck
- Gys Hyman
- The Jessen Family
- Janet Han
- Tom Canale
- DEMAW & Linwhei Chuang
- The Rudbeck Family
- The Jakobe Family
- The Miller-Buchholz Family
- The McKeague Family
- Simon Philips
- The Abella-Ruby Family
- The Lewis Family
- Leah Jayasanker
- Katie Lai, Ayax Vargas and Anabel
- The Vuillemin Family
- Eugene Han
- Linda Cheng
- Helen Chuang
- Jayashree Gorripati
- Dahlia, Dominic, and Donovan
- Yusuf Lawal
- Jennifer Ellergodt
- The Benton Family
- The Lu Family
- Arun Kallikadavil
- Sindhura Valleru
- The Smith Family
- Martin Herz
- The Fischer-Stern Family
- Matthew Landa
- Peggy Doyle
- Kevin Mork
- Gwendolyn Foster
- Carla Harmath
- Jyothi Vinay
- Sri Choudary
- Sudha Amineni
- Terence Marling
- Sunita Surapaneni
- Sandhya Addanki
- Adrienne Hiegel
- Rajya Manne
- Narasa Kakuturu
- Andrea Duong
- Kimberly Rociola
- Victor and Shoshanna Miller
- The Fahey Family
- Tina Rivera
- Praveena Narisetty
- Ananth Benedict
- Emily Burger
- Sailaja Lingamaneni
- Windy City Fencing
- Fencing Center of Chicago
- Bronzeville Fencing Academy
- The Zeffy Corporation
Fencing Forward, Inc ©2024
Fencing Forward is a registered 501(c)(3) organization | Tax ID: 99-0834900