Years ago, Sally Hazelgrove moved her family to Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood. One of the most noticeable aspects of the community, for her, was that the young men she would see on the street often were not engaged with or did not have access to furthering education or career preparation, among many things. After recognizing this, in 2013, Hazelgrove dedicated her time and attention to launching Crushers Club — an organization that invests in young men by placing them in programs ranging from boxing, cooking, catering, construction and more, it also doubles as a safe space for members as they hone life skills. Since then, Crushers Club has seen over 500 members walk through their door, including two boxers who went on to be Golden Glove winners.
On Saturday, April 1, 2023, Crushers Club was featured in a CBS Chicago segment with Suzanne Le Mignot. CBS spoke with Hazelgrove, who said, “I saw how dangerous [Englewood] was and all these young men on the corners, and I decided I wanted to start volunteering.”
The Make It Better Foundation also named Crushers Club as a 2014 Philanthropy Award winner, a victory that Hazelgrove said helped the organization take its first steps by securing a space and funding for their operations.
Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in Better, read it here.
Watch the full segment:
