Fund-A-Need Launched

Beat the Streets Chicago long-held dream to open a wrestling and enrichment center for Chicago youth is nearly a reality!  With construction almost complete, we are ready to go shopping - with some help.

Olympian and Head Women's Coach Haley Augello says it best:

[embed]https://youtu.be/nlCio1IDkTM[/embed]

Donate to Fund-A-Need here.

The journey to open this facility has been 18 months in the making.

An aggressive capital campaign to raise $2.1 million began in October, 2019, under the leadership of Board President Paul Carbery and BTSC Director Tim Philosophos.  Soon after, the team set its sights on the property at 5985 S. Archer in Chicago's Garfield Ridge neighborhood.  A former boutique fitness center, the floor plan had sufficient open space to accommodate the wrestling mats.  In addition, the location just behind Midway Airport is accessible to many of the neighborhoods and schools we already serve.

Doug Baum, also a BTSC Board Member, signed on not only as a significant financial contributor, but project manager for the purchase and renovations.  He assembled an amazing team of construction and trades professionals, most of whom have wrestling connections.  Ninos Oshana and Jordan Blanton have been tremendous contributors.

Today, we are thrilled to announce that we have met 85% of our goal and raised enough money to complete the renovations!

Now, we are focused on what we need for programming inside the building.

To close out our capital campaign for this incredible facility, we need to raise another $300,000.  Most of that will be spent on mats, furniture, equipment and supplies. We've established a "gift registry" that allows donors to choose items to sponsor.  The items range in price from $25 to over $3,000 and will help us set up our two wrestling rooms, our weight room and our office and common areas.  We hope to raise the money by the end of April, 2021, so that we are fully ready for May programming and summer camps.

To make a donation to our "Facility Fund A Need" campaign, visit https://www.btschicago.org/fund-a-need/

Look for a grand opening celebration this summer!

Please direct any questions or comments directly to Mike Powell via email.

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