Important Links

Hi everyone.

You will want to save these links. They are important. 

First, Marguerite's Place website is http://www.margueritesplace.org/

I encourage you to go to the website and learn a little more about the organization. They are amazing!


The link to donate is http://www.margueritesplace.org/you-can-help/

You will need this link when I challenge you to donate. Remember any amount helps. 

Second, you will need the Fist Fitness website.

http://www.fistfitnessgym.com/

I encourage you to check them out as well and I can't thank them enough for supporting me and being a part of this.  I look forward to introducing Joe and Sean in future videos so keep visiting the site.

So, the big question.  Why?

 

So why does a 44 year old man decide to go three rounds with a super heavy weight boxer?

There is no trophy to win and no money at stake.  Well, no money for me.  Hopefully I will make some money for my charity.   Sure.  Craziness is a part of it, but only a small part.  

     Yes.  I am doing this to raise money for Marguerite’s Place.  Marguerite’s Place is a nonprofit in Nashua NH that helps women with children with transitional housing.   I am a board member so I try to help however I can. The mission of Marguerite’s Place has special meaning to me because of the stories my father told me of his childhood. 

      My father died several years ago, but if he was alive today and you asked him about his childhood he would admit to you that he grew up as “poor white trash.”  His father disappeared shortly after the children were born. To this day no one knows what happened to him or where he went.  My grandmother was left to raise my father and his younger brother alone.  They were fortunate that my father’s grandfather had a family house that they were able to live in.  If it wasn’t for that, my father admits they probably would have been homeless.  They were grateful to have a place to live, however even though my great grandfather had a successful building wrecking business back in the thirties; he was apparently a very mean drunk.  He lost a lot of his money to alcohol and it was a very uncomfortable environment.    I can’t help but think that my grandmother would have been happier if they had had a place of their own to stay.  The type of place that Marguerite’s place provides for its residents.

     Okay, let’s skip to the happy ending.

 My father worked hard growing up. His grandfather passed away and they were still able to stay in the family house, but now they had no money.  My father supported his mother and brother for a lot of his young life.  In the end, my father grew up to start a business and become a successful business man himself. He ran a company called Pipe Line Testing Service in Winchester, MA.   His hard work and struggles paid off.  Not only did he run a successful company for a number of years, but he learned to pay it forward.  He was able to purchase a two family house that he rented out as section 8 low income housing.  He became a selectman of Winchester and championed for low income housing. He was also appointed to the state housing authority.   He overcame difficult odds.

   So hopefully you can see from my family history why I might be attached to an organization that helps women with children overcome difficult situations. 

So again, why box.  Well, to me boxing symbolizes overcoming difficult odds.  Boxing is not about being the toughest guy in the room or hurting someone else.  It is about pushing yourself and believing in yourself.   As I train for this fight, I know there will be times I will want to quit.  My arms will be tired and I’ll be gasping for breath and I’ll be faced with the choice that we all have when we face something difficult.   Quit and be done or push myself just a little further.   If I quit, okay no loss.  As I said nothing is at stake so why not just quit.   But, I won’t quit because I don’t want the women of Marguerite’ Place to quit.  They are going to run into difficulties when they go to school, raise their families and pay their bills.  But they will need to believe that they can make it and they will be so much prouder of themselves when they do make it.

     Yes.  I can quit this fight when the training gets hard, but what message does that send to my children.   Ten years from now I won’t remember how the fight turned out, but I’ll know that I took on a difficult challenge and saw it through.   

  So, why box?  To show what can happen when we push and make the decision to go the distance.

I hope you enjoy going on this journey with me and maybe it will inspire you with your New Year’s resolutions.   I will be challenging you readers to donate as I take on my physical challenges.  I hope you will give what you can.  I also hope some of you in the area will donate to see the fight, which is tentatively scheduled for March. 

         As we saw from Face book’s ice bucket challenge, small amounts from a lot of people can add up.  You can go to margueritesplace.org to donate.   Push yourself to give what you can.  Great things will happen from it and you’ll be amazed how great it makes you feel. 

 

Thanks and keep visiting for more posts.

 

Eric

 

 

Link to my fight intro

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-9QUZ4cVdE

A big Challenge for a great organization