The Dr. Theodore A. Atlas Foundation is a New York-based 501(c)(3) community service organization that provides financial, legal and emotional support to individuals and organizations in need, and focuses particularly on the needs of children. It was founded in 1997 by boxing trainer and commentator, Teddy Atlas, in order to honor the memory of his father. In the spirit of Dr. Atlas, who provided free medical care to those who could not afford it and made house calls to give personal care to his patients until he was 80 years old, the Foundation has attempted since its inception to ease the burden of the less fortunate among us. And it accomplishes this in a very human way, in a way which preserves the dignity of the people it helps.
The Foundation comes to the aid of people in a variety of difficult situations, people who would otherwise fall between the cracks. It has engaged in large endeavors, such as creating incentive programs in schools to encourage and motivate students, opening and operating a food pantry in Staten Island to make sure that children do not go to bed hungry, and distributing turkeys on Thanksgiving and toys on Christmas to families who do not have the financial resources to properly celebrate the holidays. And it has helped literally thousands of individuals and families in their time of need. It purchased a special machine to oxidate the blood of a young girl with pulmonary atresia; it purchased a central air conditioning unit for the home of a young boy whose rare condition caused his skin to blister painfully when the room temperature increased; it surprised a 12-year-old boy with cancer who returned home from chemotherapy to find that his bare room that his mother could not afford to furnish, except for a mattress on the floor, had been painted and equipped with a new bed and furniture and a television; it helped to pay the health insurance of a young boy with lymphoma who was receiving chemotherapy treatments, and then brought him to a Yankee game, where he spent time in the dugout with Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, in order to lift the spirits of the 5-year-old Yankee fan. This is just a small sampling of the kind of work that the Foundation does every day.
is a 20-year-old light heavyweight from
Staten Island who believes he is peaking at the right time and will make a giant step toward securing a spot on the 2012
U.S. Olympic boxing team at the Trials this week at the
Mobile Civic Center.
Browne's success will have a ripple effect - perhaps for years to come.
Browne trains at the Park Hill Gym in Staten Island, which is financially supported by the
Dr. Theodore Atlas Foundation. If the foundation hadn't stepped in after the
Police Athletic League decided it would no longer fund amateur boxing in
New York City, then boxers like Browne would never have been able to chase their Olympic dreams. Through his foundation, Atlas is helping two other gyms in New York City under the "Cops and Kids" banner. Two of the boxers under that umbrella program -
Pedro Sosa and
Louis Cruz of the
Bronx - are also at the Olympic Trials.
Teddy called me late one evening to see if I could provide photographs at his Park Hill Gym when some WEST POINT CADETS were coming down to box his boys. Of course I could and by watching these determined, inspiring young men train and box I again realized that in the game of life it doesn't always matter who wins and comes out on top cause as long as you are on the journey to be the best that you can be, you're never a loser...
Please help the Atlas Foundation out by volunteering and donating money, food or clothing by calling 718.980.7037. Visit www.DrAtlasFoundation.com for more info.
