The Augustine Band of Cahuilla Indians donated $10,000 to the Coachella Valley Boxing Club on May 5, with the donation being the latest in an ongoing effort to keep open a building that has been open to the community for generations.
Lee Espinoza, the longtime director of the facility, accepted the donation, with his wife, June, and members of the tribe and the facility’s board of directors in attendance. Among those also on hand was WBC international light flyweight champion Brook Sibrian, who is in training camp for her May 30 fight in El Paso, Texas.
“It’s a hidden gem that even a lot of people in the valley don’t know about,” Sibrian said. “It’s so rich with history. Boxing legends have come. But it’s also been a safe haven for kids and adults.”
Donations go toward helping upkeep of the facility, which is located right next to Bagdouma Park in Coachella, providing new equipment and to keeping the lights and air conditioning on. The club has a full gym that anyone can use and is run by volunteers who offer their time to train children and adults about self defense through boxing.
“This is essentially an outreach program,” said Jose Zamora, Sibrian’s partner and trainer. “Donations to this place are put back into this community, giving people a place to come and get that sense of community.”
Among the biggest donors to the Coachella Valley Boxing Club are the H. N. and Frances Berger Foundation and Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions. Espinoza said that several others have donated in recent years to help keep the facility open to the community.
Espinoza, who in March 2005 was inducted into the California Boxing Hall of Fame and in 2020 the West Coast Boxing Hall of Fame, has overseen the club for more than 40 years.
It began in a cramped room in Indio before moving to the former fire station next to Coachella City Hall in 1985, and then in 1996 to its current location. In 2012, following an expansion of the club, the City of Coachella renamed it the Lee Espinoza Coachella Valley Boxing Club.
“We’re very grateful to (the tribe) for their contribution,” Espinoza said. “and to many who continue to support us to keep this place open for the community.”
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Augustine tribe donates $10,000 to Coachella Valley Boxing Club
Reporting by Andrew John, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
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