by Mark Smiley
Every year, the Glendale Sports Center managed by the YMCA raises money to help more families and individuals access the Y’s programs and activities for youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility. The Annual Campaign can make a real difference in the lives of people throughout Glendale.
A major contributor to this campaign since arriving in Glendale a few years back is Urban Phenix. Urban Phenix is the management company representing three complexes in Glendale and three in Denver. With headquarters in Glendale, Urban Phenix understands the importance of supporting the community.
“We value our partnership with the Glendale YMCA,” said Nick Lazzara, President of Urban Phenix. “The fact that they o
ffer an $8 per month membership for Glendale residents is a huge selling point for us.”
When the City of Glendale built the Glendale Sports Center, it retained the YMCA to manage the facility. In the past, some residents had little to no idea they lived within the boundaries of Glendale, as Glendale and Denver boundaries can be in some areas, highly irregular. When this plan was instituted many more people who thought they lived in Glendale, realized they live in Denver. The local zip code, 80246, is the same which adds to the confusion.
“We have people that come in all the time and swear that they live in Glendale to take advantage of the discount,” said Lynn Taylor, Mem
bership Director. “We have seen it all when it comes to people claiming they live in Glendale.” The Sports Center also offers a $40 per month membership for those who work in Glendale. An adult Denver resident pays $50 per month.
Urban Phenix’s philanthropic efforts don’t begin and end with the Glendale Sports Center. They also have a Give Back program whereby any resident that lives in one of the complexes they manage and has a cause they support, Urban Phenix will help sponsor an event if the resident gets 10 people to participate. “It’s our way of encouraging philanthropic efforts amongst our residents,” said Lazzara.
Another cause Urban Phenix supports is Colorado UpLift. Colorado UpLift was founded in 1982 by Dr. Kent Hutcheson as a summer jobs program for urban, at-risk youth. Dr. Hutcheson’s passion was to help urban young people find hope in hopeless circumstances.
Colorado UpLift establishes a “pipeline of influence” model, in which UpLift staff members provide consistent instruction for students from elementary school through college age and have a better chance to emerge as successful, productive young adults. Since their inception, they have served approximately 30,000 urban youth in the Denver Metro area, and will impact more than 5,600 students in 2017. “98 percent of the seniors graduate that went through this program,” said Lazzara.
Colorado UpLift has an event scheduled May 4, 2017, from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at the Infinity Park Event Center in Glendale. The 2017 event titled Urban Masterpieces will feature an evening with food, music by Hazel Miller, and stories of lives changed by a positive influence.
The Glendale Sports Center hopes to expand its partnership with Urban Phenix as the company establishes more of a presence in the greater Glendale community. Partnerships such as these are vital to the YMCA and the programs it offers year-round.
For more information about Urban Phenix, visit www.urbanphenix.com, for more information about the Glendale Sports Center, visit www.denverymca.org/glendale, and for Colorado UpLift, visit www.coloradouplift.org.