Chucky Fights in the Nashua Catholic Gymnasium

On Wednesday, January 30^th, Charles “Chucky” Rosa brought his fight to the 8^th grade Nashua Catholic Wildcats. The former boxer came to speak to students about a subject dear to his heart: drug and alcohol addiction. Rosa lost two sons, Vincent and Dominic, to drug overdoses and has spent the past 12 years educating youth groups, school children, prisoners, and those in treatments centers about the dangers of drugs in what he calls, “Chucky’s Fight.”

No matter the weather, Rosa starts every day with a dip in the Atlantic Ocean near the Seabrook-Hampton bridge, because it makes him feel closer to his two sons whose ashes are scattered there. Rosa says the ritual centers and calms him. Rosa struggles with his own sobriety and personal guilt that he didn’t do enough as a parent to keep his sons safe and drug free.

Chucky’s son Vincent’s addiction started in middle school when he and his so-called “friends” would drink Vodka in a water bottle at the bus stop. Marijuana came next and although Vincent went through periods of sobriety, the drugs became too strong a pull and he was soon addicted to heroin. Vincent died at the age of 20 of a fentanyl patch overdose. In the months following Vincent’s death, Dominic turned to drugs. Thirteen months after Vincent’s death, Dominic died of a morphine overdose at age 23.

Chucky fielded questions from the 8^th grade audience while stressing to students that the choices they make every day have lasting impacts on their lives. Rosa told students, “there are very few guarantees in life,” but he guaranteed them that if they choose drugs or alcohol it would eventually lead to a fight for their lives. His mantra to students was, “your choice, your journey.”

Before concluding his presentation, Rosa asked Nashua Catholic 8^th graders to take a pledge to stay drug and alcohol free. Without judgement, Rosa told the 83 students not to take the pledge if they didn’t intend to honor it. Rosa handed out Chucky’s Fight dog tags and bear hugs to students as reminders of their pledge.

Rosa’s website, www.chuckysfight.com, raises awareness and money for those fighting addiction and trying to stay clean. He welcomes anyone to join him on his daily dunks in the ocean.

Nashua Catholic Regional Junior High School, in the Diocese of Manchester, NH, serves students in grades 7 and 8. Nationally recognized as a 2017 National Blue Ribbon School, Nashua Catholic helps students uncover their passion for learning and encourages them to accomplish their best in academics, arts and athletics. Our school offers an outstanding faith-based, values-oriented educational program in the Catholic tradition and fosters those skills needed to function effectively and ethically in an increasingly complex world.