Boxtobox Inc

Box To Box is a non-profit (501c3) after-school program. Our mission is to develop, enable, and

enhance the Lexington refugee children's community through sports, positive experiences, and

leadership development. While most of our students are from Congo, that is not a requirement

— we serve a wonderfully diverse group of kids.

Box To Box was founded by brothers Philip and John Manga, who arrived in America from

Congo when they were very young. They built the organization to pay it forward to a community

that gave them so much in their youth. Both attended college on soccer scholarships and credit

their success to the many people in Lexington who supported them along the way. The unofficial

motto of Box To Box is "It takes a village" — a phrase that reflects their lived experience and our

shared outlook.

 Box to Box Tumaini Academy. Box to Box, or B2B, provides after-school tutoring, mentorship, and soccer training for at-risk youth, primarily from immigrant families that have experienced political violence in their countries of origin. “Box to box” is a soccer term that refers to a player that covers the entire field, from one penaltybox to another, and we take this approach to working with our students. We provide transportation after school to our tutoring sessions, meals, and transportation to and from soccer sessions. Because most of our participants’ parents work long hours, without these interventions, participation in the program would not be possible.

Students spend approximately 4 days per week in Box to Box programs for about 12 weeks each semester. Daily after-school sessions last two hours. The majority of our 60-70 students also participate in the soccer club, which practices twice per week during the season and plays at least one match on the weekend. Over the entire school year, students participate in Box to Box programs for about 200-300 hours, depending on their participation in soccer. We believe that regular participation in our programs–tutoring, mentoring, and soccer–is critical for our students. It provides a rhythm and routine to the school year, keeps students on track in their classes, and offers a social space to connect with peers. The ACT Prep portion, focused on upper class students, will also help prepare them for life after Box2Box. 

We measure success by regular attendance, feelings of belonging and confidence within the community among our participants, high school graduation, and college attendance. The goal of the program is to give students a strong sense of identity and confidence in themselves. Our students face innumerable challenges with acclimating to US schools and English-language curriculum and their parents often do not have the capacity to help with homework and navigate the school system. We provide a bridge between school and home to ensure that students stay accountable and on track for graduation. Our regular meetings (4-5 times per week for most of our students) provide a safe environment for students to go to after school hours and a place where they can get help on homework assignments and even college applications

For the very first time in Box2Box's short history, we were able to offer five scholarships to our graduating seniors who are attending college . This was something we had wanted to do for a long time, and it was finally coming to pass.

Thanks to a generous donation from David Jones, father of board member Will Jones, we were able to award two scholarships in memory of Will's mother, Pyddney Jones. Additionally, through the generosity of Spy Coast Farm, we were able to provide three scholarships in memory of Paula Hollis, who was like a mother to founder Philip Manga and his brother John when they first arrived from the Congo.

The applications were carefully reviewed by a committee, and the following 9 students each received a $1,000 scholarship. Two of these accomplished young women will be attending Eastern Kentucky University and university of Kentucky 

As one student noted in their application, college is not cheap, and we were thrilled to contribute in a small way to the success of five refugees from the Congo who have made tremendous progress during their time here. A recurring theme throughout these scholarship applications was captured in Deedee's words: "I care about helping others because I know what it feels like to need help."