How WBC Cares in the UK
Jose Sulaiman and Jill Diamond established WBC Cares as a beacon of hope for children and young people worldwide, many of whom are fighting for their lives, battling life-threatening illness.
WBC Cares visits hospitals, orphanages, schools, community centers to provide toys to children and for Boxing Champions to hug them and encourage them to persevere with all their might. Everything is free and the World Boxing Council absorbs the costs. We believe that children are our future, and we must try our utmost to help those who are up against it struggling against illness or poverty.
The WBC and WBC Cares are proud of all our Cares Leaders around the world. They are our Army of Angels and work without compensation to berger our sport and the world.
WBC Cares UK
David Walker: "I first heard about the WBC Cares initiative from Jill Diamond at the WBC Convention. Jill and Don Jose had been fleshing out this very new concept. I thought it was a wonderful and much-needed idea. I volunteered to start the WBC Cares work in the UK. John H Stracey MBE was the first Champion to volunteer followed by Junior Witter. Initially, we donated signed items to charities and good causes. The word soon spread and in no time, we were donating items every week somewhere in the country. We started by hosting dinner events to raise money for good causes, including children’s hospices.
"Around 2010, I invited Scott Welch to join Cares. I realised Scott had a gift for this work, and under his leadership, with the support from the rest of the team across the UK, WBC Cares UK has gone from strength to strength."
Scott Welch
"The green belt is the most prestigious and respected belt in boxing. I was fortunate to be given an opportunity to fight for the WBC Heavyweight International title in 1994 against James Oyebola in the US.
"I’ve always been passionate about giving back to the community and helping others. After the tragic murder of James in 2007, I wanted to do what I could to address violence in our communities. Through boxing, I believe we can create real change, it was an honour for the WBC President Mauricio Suliman to present me with a replica of the original belt I fought for in recognition of my work and subsequently being offered the role of Chairman and lead WBC Cares in the UK.
"Now more than ever, young people need our help. The last few years have been extremely challenging, we have experienced the impact this has had on youth and their families. We will push harder than ever to support these young people and the many other groups that benefit from being a part of the boxing community.
"We have seen significant growth of WBC Cares in the UK thanks to our hardworking team. We’ve come a long way in the last 15 years and are proud of what we’ve achieved so far, our core values underpin our work and we want to ensure everyone has access to high-quality and safe boxing regardless of ability, age, gender, identity, income or disability.
"As with many WBC Cares chapters, we work alongside current and historic WBC Champions to enhance our campaigns and programmes, celebrate their successes and inspire boxers of the future.
"In recent years, we have built partnerships with funders and communities to deliver long-term sustainable boxing programmes. They continue to go from strength to strength and we continue to develop a model of best practice that can inspire others. Through the development of safe and inclusive boxing, we can offer opportunities to a variety of groups over and above amateur and professional boxers;
– Children & young people (5 -18 years old)
– Adult fitness and technique (18+)
– People with physical disabilities
– Young people with special educational needs and disabilities
– People experiencing challenges with their emotional and mental health."
In 2022, WBC Cares UK Chairman Scott Welch orchestrated a glamourous partnership between Opus Books and WBC to create the 
