Project 85

Boxercraft Project 85 logo
girl on couch writing in notebook

Boxercraft was born in 1985 on the campus of the University of Virginia and the collegiate spirit and lifestyle have remained at the core of our identity for 35 years.  Our business allows us the opportunity to work with hundreds of schools around the country…big schools, small schools and everything in between.   We clearly see the role they play in educating and developing young adults so they can prosper in the world today and build a life for themselves and their family.  We believe education is a critically important pathway to opportunity.  For so many people, it’s simply the opportunity that is elusive to them.   Give them the chance to succeed and you’ll see their drive, commitment, work ethic and humanity rise to the surface. 

Creating a clear path for economic prosperity means opening the doors of higher education to more Americans. Today, nearly 85% of the fastest-growing occupations require education and training beyond a high school diploma. A postsecondary credential has never been more important.  In today's economy, higher education is no longer a luxury for the privileged few, but a necessity for individual economic opportunity and America's competitiveness in the global economy. At a time when jobs can go anywhere in the world, skills and education will determine success for individuals and for nations. As a result, a college education remains the best investment a student can make in his or her future.  Yet only 85% of our kids are graduating high school, 66% of them actually start college and only 41% of them finish within four years.  A generation ago, America led the world in college attainment of young adults; now, we rank 13th. 

girl with red pom-pom

Many people will point to the rising cost of education as the primary reason people get left behind.  We believe affordable education exists but the issues stem from a lack of awareness and understanding.  Like everything in life, post-secondary education comes in all types of packaging…big or small, expensive or affordable, well known or a bit off the grid.  A student’s ability to clearly understand who they are, what they want to be and align themselves with an educational opportunity that fits their career choice, geographic location and budget is absolutely critical.  An industry has been created to counsel parents and their children on the complex process of finding the right school opportunity and how to pay for it which should be a flashing red light for everyone.  It’s great for the people that can afford the assistance but what about the kid trying to figure it out on their own?  Just for fun, go to the website for U.S Department of Education Office of Post-Secondary Education and witness the complexity first hand.

Every hard-working student deserves a real opportunity to earn an affordable, high-quality degree or credential. America’s students know what they want out of college. They want an education that will set them on a path to success. They want control of their future, without decades of overwhelming debt. They want a college degree that will help them thrive, support a family, shape the world and contribute to their communities.  For them, college is literally a transformative time in their lives that shapes their future in profoundly positive ways.

Our mission is see the current numbers of 85/66/41 (Graduate High School/Enroll in College/Finish in 4 Years) move to 85/85/85…PROJECT 85.   Great!  How do we do that?  We believe it starts with democratizing the information and leveraging technology to create a platform that allows our students to easily accomplish the following:

  • Understand who they are, where their strengths lie and identify career paths that work for them (Phase 1)
  • Understand the schools that work for them in terms of the curriculum for their chosen career, their geographic location and their budget (Phase 1)
  • Understand the various scholarships, grants and loans available to them (Phase 2)
girl at desk with computer

Imagine an app on their phone that asks questions and presents information based on their answers… quick, intuitive, focused and at their fingertips!  The good news is that we’ve identified the technology and are in the process of building it out.  The bad news is that we’re not finished yet.  The app will be free and the plan is to make the same content accessible on the web from any computer anywhere to ensure we can reach as many kids as possible.

We’ll keep you updated on our progress.  If Project 85 speaks to you and you’d like to help, you can buy something from us.  You’ll notice all of our retail prices end in $0.85.  That last $0.85 of every item is committed to Project 85 and building the technology in phase 1 and then building our own Project 85 Scholarship Program in phase 2.  Watch for custom Project 85 products where 100% of the proceeds will be directed to the program.

We understand the size of the mountain we’re trying to climb and the effort required to get there.  Our team is ready for the challenge.

Learn Today.  Lead Tomorrow.