The Cambria, a historical Kensington boxing arena, was recently purchased by Rock Ministries, which hopes to pick the building off the mat and turn it into a youth center, writes Matt Breen for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The mastermind behind the idea is Buddy Osborn, a once-promising Kensington amateur fighter who spent five years in federal prison and who is now the pastor of Rock Ministries.
The ministry, which uses boxing as a way to introduce kids to Jesus, acquired the building for $600,000. The plans for the future call for a basketball court, a rock-climbing wall, and classrooms, as well as “every game you can imagine,” said Osborn.
The Youth Factory, as the new center will be called, is a needed refuge for local kids considering their neighborhood is the center of the heroin epidemic, explained Osborn.
“What they’ve seen with their eyes and heard with their ears, a lot of these kids have post-traumatic stress disorder because of what they’re experiencing through no fault of their own,” said Osborn.
“But when they come in here, they know it’s a safe haven.”
Read more about Rock Ministries’ plans to transform the historical boxing arena in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
More about Rock Ministries.
