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Springfield City Council honors youth boxers, birth-equity advocate and Parent Villages
Summary
At its Feb. 24 meeting the Springfield City Council issued proclamations recognizing members of Rivera Boxing Club, Chanel Ford for a national birth-justice fellowship, and Latonya Monroe Naylor and Parent Villages for community work; councilors offered brief remarks and photos.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The Springfield City Council on Feb. 24 presented proclamations honoring youth athletes from Rivera Boxing Club, a mayor’s office staffer selected for a national birth-equity fellowship and the community nonprofit Parent Villages.
Councilor Delgado presented citations for three young boxers and Rivera Boxing Club, praising the club’s youth work. "I'm very proud of the work that you are doing there at your club," the presenter said before asking Julio Rivera and the athletes to the front. The council recognized Skyler Alisaea as a three-time national champion and a 2025 Silver Gloves bantamweight champion, Zuri Coles as a six-time national champion and the No. 1-ranked 65-pound boxer in her division, and Adrian Rivera for multiple regional and national titles, including a 2021 Junior Olympics national gold medal.
The council also read a proclamation recognizing Chanel Ford, memorial aide in the mayor’s office, for being selected as one of 11 inaugural participants in the Bridal Village Network Birth Justice Fellowship — an 18-month initiative described in the proclamation as advancing birth equity nationwide. City Council Vice President Tracy Whitfield, who read the proclamation on the council’s behalf, said Ford "is a force to be reckoned with" and noted Ford’s local lactation and maternal-health work.
Separately, the council honored Latonya Monroe Naylor and Parent Villages with a proclamation noting the group's work since 2018 on family engagement, scholarships and programs for families and youth. The proclamation says Parent Villages served "an average of 700 individuals" in recent years, provided more than $40,000 in scholarships and purchased 32 Handam Street for a Parent Villages center.
Councilors offered brief remarks after each recognition, thanking families, coaches and volunteers and taking group photos.
Why it matters: The proclamations highlight community groups and individuals delivering youth programming, maternal-health advocacy and family-support services; the recognitions are ceremonial actions but provide public visibility for local nonprofits and volunteer efforts.
Provenance: Excerpts of the meeting record supporting this article include the councilor introduction and award text for Rivera Boxing Club, the proclamation text for Chanel Ford and the Parent Villages proclamation.
Ending: The council paused briefly for photographs and then recessed three minutes before opening the hearings portion of its Feb. 24 meeting.
