Thursday, Feb. 14, 2008
Family of boxers makes a difference in community
Russells receive Dream Family Award
by Jonathan Stein | Staff Writer
Capitol Heights couple Gary Russell Sr. and LaJuan Russell say they have a lot to be thankful for these days.
The parents of six boys ages 7 to 19, Gary and LaJuan run a boxing gym owned by Robert Simon that attracts several youths. For years they have opened their home to many young men, providing food, clothing, shelter and boxing lessons, all for free.
For their community efforts, the Russell family received the Dream Family award Jan. 24 from the Martin Luther King Jr. Foundation at the organization’s first awards banquet.
Foundation chairwoman Sandra Pruitt said the Russells are worthy of the award.
‘‘What I learned about the Russell family is that they all have a good spirit about them,” Pruitt said. ‘‘I liked ... how close-knit they were.”
LaJuan Russell said that on any given night there could be up to eight additional people besides the family sleeping at the home.
The neighborhood youth, whose ages range from 11 to 17, eat dinner with the family, play board games, watch movies, and receive advice on boxing and lifestyle from Russell Sr., LaJuan said.
‘‘We try to make our home as welcoming as possible so that other kids in the neighborhood can benefit from that,” she said. ‘‘They come over to our house and we watch over them.”
The Russells own the Nomis Boxing Community Center, which is located above an auto repair shop in Washington, D.C.
Open four-and-a-half hours after school every day, the gym has become a training ground for the Russells’ sons and other aspiring boxers from Prince George’s County, the District, Baltimore and Northern Virginia.
The gym has remained a hub of daily activity since the family moved the gym there from the basement of their Capitol Heights home in 2006 because the space had become too small to accommodate the ever-increasing enrollment.
The Russells’ sons are active, amateur boxers who participate in competitions across the country.
‘‘[Boxing] gives you a work ethic and a sense of confidence about yourself,” said Russell Sr., who has been a trainer for 18 years.
Russell Sr.’s oldest son, Gary Russell Jr., is preparing for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. He is ranked No. 1 in the world in the 112-to-118-pound bantamweight class.
Seven of the boxers Russell Sr. trains are from Prince George’s County, 10 are from the District and three are from Baltimore and Northern Virginia.
Russell Sr. is unemployed. He receives disability benefits stemming from a hunting mishap 13 years ago.
LaJuan works as a program support specialist for the Small Business Administration in the District.
Each of their sons attends public schools in Capitol Heights and all have their father’s first name. Gary Russell Jr., 19; Gary Allen Russell, III, 17; Gary Antonio Russell, 14; Gary Darreke Russell, 13; Gary Antuanne Russell, 11; and Gary Isaiah Russell, 7.
To avoid confusion, the sons use their middle names.
Preston Holmes, a 14-year-old Oxon Hill resident, is one of the boys’ many cousins. He spends time at the Russell home nearly every day.
‘‘I like being around them,” Holmes said. ‘‘I like them all. They’re very good role models for me.”
E-mail Jonathan Stein at jstein@gazette.net.
