I’m incredibly excited and humbled to share that I’ll be participating in Haymakers for Hope Belles of the Brawl at MGM on October 12th.

I’m fighting for everyone reading this whose life has been impacted by cancer. I’m especially fighting in loving memory of David Ooi, the brother of my dear friend, mentor, and trainer, Sarah Bendixen. The money raised will help support cancer research, care, awareness, and survivorship. I’m passionate about mental health awareness, and specifically aim to donate the funds raised to support the mental health and clinical care of survivors through the Perini Family Survivors’ Center at Dana Farber. The Perini Center provides care and conducts patient-oriented research for both adults and children. The Center also disseminates information on the medical, emotional, and psychological challenges facing today’s growing population of cancer survivors.

For those of you who may not know me, here’s a bit about me: I work at KPMG LLP as a Financial Crimes Consultant, specializing in anti-money laundering for financial services and fintech clients. I originally started boxing at The Way LLC in Woburn, MA with my best friend, Erin Brooks, six years ago. Erin and I both have talked about wanting to do Haymakers for Hope since we started hitting the bag. Since moving to Southie, I’ve gone to EverybodyFights and quickly fell in love with the community – so much so that I work at the front desk when not at my full-time job. I’ll be training with Jason McCloud and Ben Schenck out of EBF – feeling super grateful to have them in my corner (literally and figuratively).

Please consider donating to help me reach my fundraising goal. In addition to donations here, you can donate via ticket sales (going live mid-August) or at a fundraiser I’m hosting this summer. Follow along on Instagram at @laurensantilli_ for updates! See you at MGM, let’s gooooo!