Photos provided by the Holy Cross Mission Center.
Dear Holy Cross family,
My name is Rosie Binette, and I am honored to serve as the 2026–27 president of the University of Notre Dame’s Women’s Boxing Club, Baraka Bouts. We are the largest women’s club boxing program in the world, and our members bring heart and grit to everything they do. This fall, we put that grit on display as we step into the ring for our 24th annual tournament, with a mission that reaches far beyond the ring: supporting Holy Cross education in Uganda.
This year’s tournament will be held over three nights in the Dahnke Ballroom of the Duncan Student Center:
- Quarterfinals – November 9th at 7:00 p.m.
- Semifinals – November 15th at 5:00 p.m.
- Finals – November 18th at 7:00 p.m.
I warmly invite you to join us, whether in the crowd at Dahnke or by supporting our fundraising, to cheer on my teammates as we box for something bigger than ourselves. If you can’t make it in person, each night will be livestreamed on our giving page.
Baraka Bouts is far more than a boxing club. We grind through workouts packed with countless burpees and push-ups, and we spar to master a sport that is brand new to nearly all of us. In November, we compete to show off everything we’ve worked for this season. But service is at the heart of everything we do. Every dollar we raise goes directly to St. Joseph’s Hill Secondary School in Kyembogo, Uganda, and Holy Cross Lake View Senior Secondary School in Jinja, Uganda.
I have not yet had the chance to visit Uganda myself. What I know of these schools comes from the Holy Cross community, from teammates who have spent time there, like our former president Layann Wardeh, and from seeing what our past fundraising has built. I’ve also been lucky to get to know Fr. Tom Eckert, C.S.C., Director of the Holy Cross Mission Center, who serves as priest-in-residence in my dorm, Johnson Family Hall. He has visited Uganda countless times, and I’ve heard many of his stories firsthand. He also joins our team for “Mission Mondays,” where he shares how our efforts are making a difference on the ground. Over the past five years, Baraka Bouts has generated more than $850,000 to the Holy Cross Missions, thanks in large part to the Wolohan Family Foundation’s generous matching grant. That support has funded a dining hall, science labs, and dormitories, including the new Baraka Bouts’ Girls Dormitory at Holy Cross Lake View, completed last year. Each of these projects started as a goal on a page like this one, and each is now part of students’ daily lives.
This year, our goal is to raise $50,000, with a stretch goal of $100,000, to build a new faculty and staff housing development just 200 yards from St. Joseph Hill’s campus. The project includes 16 family units and 14 individual units and will help both schools recruit and retain the educators their students depend on. Great teachers stay where they feel safe and supported, and great teachers give rise to great students.
When we step into the ring this November, we carry those teachers and students with us. Every round we box, every cheer from the crowd, and every donation made is a direct investment in their futures. We may be boxing in the ring, but the real fight is for our mission in Uganda.
Leading this club has been one of the most meaningful parts of my time at Notre Dame. In our gym, women support each other as they learn a new sport, show real grit and skill in the ring, and push themselves to their limits for a cause bigger than themselves. That is exactly what it means to be a Notre Dame student. We are united not just by boxing, but by the belief that what we do here can change lives across the world.
I hope you’ll join us this November to see the spirit of Baraka Bouts for yourself: the thrill of competition and the joy of service.
With gratitude,
Rosie Binette
President, Baraka Bouts 2026–27
Provided by Rosie Binette, president, Baraka Bouts 2026-27, and the Holy Cross Mission Center, October 2026
