The Agoge Project: Helping Baltimore Youth Through MMA & Academics with Founder Michael John

Join Nick Lamagna on The A Game Podcast with his guest, Michael John, founder of The Agoge Project 501c3 in Baltimore MD.  Michael is using MMA, Boxing and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to shape the lives of the Baltimore youth teaching them discipline and surrounding them with hope and positivity.  He has started up this foundation and includes tutoring and mentoring for the children truly giving back and serving them with their mind and athletic skills to build self worth, understand hard work and gain confidence in self defense and academics.  After working for Baltimore City Public Schools for a couple of years he couldn’t get past the huge disparity between the lack of resources that his students were presented with on a daily basis and the resources that students 20 minutes up the road were given each day. How felt we can't expect our youth in cities like Baltimore to live up to their full potential when their peers in areas outside of our urban environments have access to exponentially more resources and opportunities.  From there on the Agoge Project set out on a path to offer a program that can bridge the gap and give students the resources and opportunities to excel in anything they come across in life. They are currently in their third year of official operation where our students have access to boxing/MMA training, academic support and mentoring services weekly at no cost to them or their families EVER. Once the new gym and full plan is in place they will provide over 700 hours of free out of school programming each year. The ultimate goal within the next five years is to transition out of teaching at Baltimore City public Schools and run the program six days a week with over  a 1,000 hours of out of school programming for our students a year with no cost to them or their families. For those who might be interested in supporting, our GoFundMe link is:  https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-agoge-project?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet. Another method to donate to our organization is through our PayPal link:  https://www.paypal.me/TheAgogeProject    Even a small donation could help The Agoge Project reach their fundraising goal. And if you can't make a donation, it would be great if you could share the fundraiser to help spread the word   About Michael John Michael John just finished his 7th year as a Baltimore City Public School teacher, more specifically special education for the last three years. He grew up playing team sports such as baseball, soccer, basketball, and football, where he had the privilege to be coached by some great people. As a teenager he took up boxing and became obsessed with it which set him on a path that has changed his life. He has used the lessons that he has learned through training in every aspect of life and uses those lessons to teach his students.  --- Connect with Michael John:    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theagogeproject Instagram: www.instagram.com/agogeprojectbmore www.theagogeproject.org 443-760-5437 --- Links and Resources from this Episode Connect with Nick Lamagna [email protected] Phone: 630.384.9443 Find all social media connections Here including Facebook, IG, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. Listen and Subscribe to The A Game Podcast on Apple, Spotify and all platforms at: www.NickNickNick.com/Links Please rate and review HERE