On the second level of the City Rondell, work is already in full swing. Hardworking volunteers from Boxing VS and the ProKids Foundation have set up a boxing ring there. Will there be a boxing match on the upcoming Sunday shopping day? Not at all. The organizers want to demonstrate their inclusive boxing project, "Fight for your life," to the many shoppers.

This is undoubtedly the social project that has generated the most headlines in the city recently. It aims to teach young people from socially disadvantaged families, many of them with a migration background, through daily boxing training that diligence, discipline, and a strong will are the keys to success in life. "Fight for your life" is an initiative of Oliver Vlcek, the former national boxing coach and honorary chairman of Boxing VS, and now operates under the umbrella of the ProKids Foundation.

It is thanks to the foundation that "Fight for your life" was able to continue after the city abandoned the project financially in the summer, like a hot potato. After state funding expired, Vlcek needed new sponsors. However, a majority on the city council indicated they would refuse to provide a grant. Mayor Dr. Kubon subsequently removed the item from the agenda. "Fight for your life" faced a critical funding gap and was on the verge of collapse, even though the district firmly supported the concept and project patron Thorsten Frei advocated for a change of heart. But even the influential member of parliament, who is also the patron of the ProKids Foundation, was unable to prevail at the political level.

However, he saved "Fight for your life" with the help of the ProKids Foundation, which had already supported Oliver Vlcek in its founding years earlier. Once again, the foundation's chairman, Joachim Spitz, and his colleagues could be relied upon – they stepped in for the city and bridged the biggest funding gap, allowing the educational boxing training to continue.



Oliver Vlcek, now the sports director of the Württemberg Boxing Association, is extremely pleased about this. Together with Joachim Spitz, he wants to convey his activities to opponents of boxing and make it clear to them that this discipline can have significant socio-educational value. The Rotary Club Villingen-Schwenningen recognized this long ago and awarded the project and its initiator, Oliver Vlcek, the Paul Harris Prize for social commitment – as they did the following year for Joachim Spitz, whose foundation has initiated and successfully led a multitude of social projects over the past ten years.

“Our goal,” says Spitz, “is to raise awareness of our boxing project on Sunday and to introduce interested parties to our educational approach.” He is firmly convinced that “Fight for your life” is a good fit for a major regional center. “Villingen-Schwenningen needs something like this, and Oliver Vlcek is an outstanding expert with tremendous dedication to the young people he mentors. It’s unparalleled.” City Rondell manager Rudolf Haselbach shares this view and is therefore providing the foundation with the presentation space in the center. “That goes without saying,” says Haselbach.

The opportunity to present themselves in the centrally located shopping center in the city center is also a good way to directly address children and young people. Joachim Spitz and Oliver Vlcek agree: "We want to reach the troubled kids where they are usually found."