North Philly gym owner set to give away 500 holiday gifts to neighborhood children December 23rd

The owner of 365 Fitness and Boxing Loft located at 1855 North 5th Street says he wants to do for little children, what he had hoped someone would have done for him when he was a little boy and that’s try to help make them have a Merry Christmas. To that end, Chris Smalls, the proprietor of 365 Fitness and Boxing Loft, announced that if up to 500 parents send him an email listing their child’s name and age and sex, he plans to provide them with a gift for Christmas. The gifts will be handed out, at his gym location on December 23, 2021. Parents and or guardians of children, need to get their child’s or children’s names turned in to Chris Small’s special email address for the occasion which is: 365Chriscodi@icloud.com, no later than 4:00 p.m. on December 20th. That will give Chris Small, his partner Nadira and other volunteers a chance to respond to all the emails and put children’s names on the various gifts to cut down on having the children wait in lines or anything like that.
Chris Smalls commented, “With this event, it was about giving back to the community. Because I used to be one of those kids waiting for somebody to come by and help my family, I realize what some of the children from our community are going through today. The pandemic hurt a lot of people. There are those who are having financial problems right now that stem back to the pandemic. Folks lost jobs. Some lost their homes. Some parents really won’t be able to enjoy Christmas themselves, or to have presents for their children because the economy has been so bad. My girlfriend and I reached out to our friends, to family members, to members of the gym and to other business owners, asking them to donate to our cause, so we could put some smiles on the faces of children this holiday season. The people we reached out to, by and large gave us positive responses. I am happy to tell you that we were able to raise enough money to purchase 500 children coats, 100 bikes, and 500 toys to give children from our community something to wake up for on Christmas morning.”
On December 23rd, 500 toys will be given out between 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. The 500 children’s coats will be given away between 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. and the 100 bikes will be given away between 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
Chris Smalls says his gym will be decorated festively for the occasion. Christmas music will be playing. Complimentary holiday treats will be available for the children. It will be a party atmosphere in a safe, family friendly venue.
365 Fitness and Boxing Loft has been open for six months. Owner Chris Smalls says despite some people telling him he was out of his mind to open a gym in the middle of a pandemic, he stepped out on faith. He says he’s believed in his vision of opening this gym in the heart of the community for several years now. When he discovered the vacant shell of a building at 1855 North 5th Street, he knew he needed to purchase it and rebuild that structure from the ground up. Now that it is open and he has members coming and going, working on their health and fitness, he also wants to work on lifting up the youngest of the people in our community, our children and let them know there are people who care about them.