A local boxing club is taking the fight for inclusivity and second chances outside of the ring.
Highlanders Boxing Club (HBC), an organization that has long been committed to improving the lives of neighborhood youth via after-school behavioral health and sports programs, is using recent funding from an Inland Empire Community Foundation grant to broaden its efforts to affect change.
Founder Tony Collins Cifuentes, who launched the organization in 2005, says the recent grant will allow HBC to expand some of its programming and where those services are offered.
“This is a beautiful opportunity,” Cifuentes said of the grant, citing that it will enhance the home-based, all-volunteer-run organization. “Things don’t look so good within some communities. There’s a lot of things happening that involve and impact youth and at-risk youth. The IECF grant will help us go forward with other things we do like social services and programs for the kids.”
“We feel blessed,” he added.
After Cifuentes founded the organization more than 20 years ago, he saw a greater need for connection among youth in the area. Initially, the goal was clear: to use boxing, fitness training, and mentoring to spark healthy lifestyles and encourage drug- and violence-free living.
“But then it became important to include our surrounding communities, too,” Cifuentes said, noting the gradual success of the organization. “We started as a boxing gym then had to evolve because we found out that not all youth wanted to become athletes or fighters.”
“We transitioned and offered things like a workforce development program, social services, enrichment classes, and other services,” he added.
The shift from mostly boxing to offering broader services reflected the needs of both San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
“The kids and parents needed more,” Cifuentes stressed. Now, the organization offers programs in several school districts and beyond.
“Our mentoring and social services not only target young boys and girls but also parents, and includes parenting classes,” he said. “We’ve come a long way since I began. Initially, I just wanted to get young kids off the streets that didn’t have a place to go after school. In a community like this, with the population and our culture, there really wasn’t much to offer within these neighborhoods.”
“We took it and ran with it,” he added.
Looking ahead, Cifuentes is excited about several new programs that will filter into the mix, most notably the recent launch of HBC Tabernacle Ranch, which he calls “a safe haven and an oasis where kids can go and be mentored or hike, or just feel safe.”
Educational workshops are offered in the sprawling 30-acre property located on San Bernardino’s north side. Cifuentes said youth can learn about conservation and various forms of environmental stewardship here. Horseback riding, archery, and axe throwing are also offered. So is a nightly campfire and gathering spot for attendees.
“We’re excited about the year ahead,” Cifuentes said. “We also want people that want to help, endorse us or become a sponsor to reach out. We want to keep growing.”
This story originally appeared in the Press Enterprise, February, 2026.
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