Community Events
From the annual Toy Drive to financial literacy workshops and Latino Heritage Month celebrations — HBC is a year-round force for community wellbeing.
Beyond the Gym
Community Is the Mission
Highlanders Boxing Club & HBC Iron Youth Services (HBC) has never been just a gym. From its earliest days, HBC has been a community hub — organizing drives, hosting workshops, celebrating culture, and showing up for families in the Inland Empire whenever there's a need.
Our community events serve thousands of families each year and are powered by an extraordinary volunteer network of youth, alumni, parents, local businesses, and partner organizations. For many families, the Toy Drive or Turkey Drive is their first contact with HBC — and it often leads to deeper engagement with our boxing, mentorship, and education programs.
Flagship Events
Signature Community Programs
Annual Toy Drive
HBC's largest community event — and one of the biggest toy drives in the Inland Empire. Every holiday season, HBC collects and distributes thousands of toys to thousands of families in Highland, San Bernardino, and surrounding communities. The Toy Drive is a massive volunteer effort, supported by local businesses, law enforcement, schools, and individual donors.
Turkey Drive
Before Thanksgiving, HBC organizes a Turkey Drive — collecting and distributing full Thanksgiving meals to families in need across the Inland Empire. It's a direct, tangible expression of HBC's belief that community care extends far beyond the gym walls. Volunteers, sponsors, and youth all participate in the collection and distribution.
Watch
Featured Community Events
Three of the recurring events that define a year at HBC — recognized publicly, celebrated culturally, taught generationally.
Annual Public-Safety Recognition
Kids in Badges
Each year HBC honors the public-safety officers — sheriff's deputies, probation officers, fire personnel — who volunteer their time mentoring justice-involved youth. The event puts the kids and the officers on the same side of the rope.
Cultural Celebration
Latino Heritage Month
A celebration of the Inland Empire's Latino community — food, music, stories, and the cultural roots of so many HBC families. Open to everyone.
Inspiration Every Month
Monthly Guest Speakers
Every month we bring guest speakers — community leaders, formerly justice-involved success stories, athletes, business owners — to motivate and inspire our young champions. The youth ask the questions; the speakers stay as long as they're useful.
Healthy Living
Safety & Bike Programming
Helmet fittings, bike-safety clinics, and healthy-living workshops — direct, hands-on community programming.
The Coalition
Community Leadership
Public officials, public-safety teams, partner organizations, and community leaders — all in the same room with our youth. The coalition is the program.
Restorative Programming
Community Healing Circles
HBC hosts community healing circle events for families and community youth — restorative spaces where trauma is named, support is shared, and the work of healing happens together.
HBC community event — a healing circle for families and community youth.
Healing circles bring families and community youth into the same room to process what's been hard — grief, violence, family stress, and the everyday weight of growing up in the Inland Empire. Facilitators hold the structure; the community does the work.
These circles are an extension of HBC's trauma-informed approach — the same one that runs through Iron Strong and our work with justice-involved youth.
Learn by Doing
Entrepreneurship & Community Outings
HBC community outings teach our youth entrepreneurship through hands-on work — promoting large community events, meeting business owners, and learning what it takes to build something.
200,000+
Toys, Clothes & Essentials Donated
Thousands
Families Served Annually
Annual
Holiday Tradition
Year-Round Impact
Workshops & Programming
Beyond flagship events, HBC hosts workshops and programming throughout the year — addressing the issues that matter most to Inland Empire families.
Financial Literacy
Workshops on budgeting, saving, banking, and financial decision-making for youth and families.
Bullying Prevention
Programs addressing bullying dynamics, bystander intervention, and building a culture of respect.
Sexual Assault Prevention
Education and awareness programming on consent, healthy relationships, and reporting resources.
Environmental Justice
Connecting youth to environmental issues in the Inland Empire — air quality, water access, green space equity.
Latino Heritage Month
Cultural celebrations honoring the Inland Empire's Latino community — art, food, music, storytelling, and history.
Back-to-School Events
School supply drives, backpack giveaways, and readiness events to support families at the start of each school year.
Organizations & Businesses
Partner With Us
HBC's community events are powered by partnerships. Local businesses provide sponsorships, in-kind donations, and volunteer teams. Schools and agencies refer families and help with outreach. Community organizations co-host workshops and bring specialized expertise.
If your organization is interested in partnering on an event, sponsoring a drive, or co-hosting a workshop — we'd love to hear from you. HBC's reach in the Inland Empire is deep, and partnerships amplify impact for everyone involved.
Be Part of Something Bigger
Volunteer at our next drive, sponsor a community event, or bring your organization to the table. Every partnership makes the Inland Empire stronger.