BALTIMORE, Nov. 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the
Baltimore community celebrated the
opening of the newly renovated UA House at Fayette, a Living
Classrooms operated community center. Kevin
Plank and Under Armour first announced the long-term
investment in the refurbishment of the facility and programming
earlier this year, and saw the community center come to life today
with an upbeat and action-packed ceremony. The revamped facility is
located at 1100 East Fayette Street in East Baltimore, adjacent to the Pleasant View
Gardens community in the Baltimore Target Investment Zone. True to
the spirit of Under Armour, UA House at Fayette operated by Living
Classrooms will be a catalyst for innovation and will reinvigorate
the model of how companies and communities work together to create
positive, lasting change.
"I am both incredibly proud and humbled to see UA House at
Fayette open its doors to the community. This center represents our
values and commitment to our hometown of Baltimore, and more importantly, to the people
of the city," said Kevin Plank. "The
UA House at Fayette will become a hub of activity and energy,
creating an environment where all can be inspired with the
resources to make their dreams a reality."
The renovated 30,000 square foot facility, which includes
10,000+ square feet of new usable space, advances Living
Classrooms' and program partners' capacity to serve children,
youth, and families residing in the neighboring communities with
diverse programming. Highlights of the new space include a covered
field house, a revitalized tutoring center, workforce development
and entrepreneurship lab, a dance and yoga studio, a recording
studio, a neighborhood kitchen, and a redesigned entryway. Programs
and services are based on assessed community needs and includes
partners in the following cornerstone areas:
- Education
- Character and Leadership
- Health, Wellness & Fitness
- Community Engagement & Service
- Entrepreneurship & Workforce Development
"Living Classrooms is extremely grateful to Kevin Plank, Under Armour and Sagamore
Development Corporation. This is a game changer. Their tremendous
generosity has enabled us to create an amazing resource for the
community that will transform the lives of children, youth, and
adults every day," said James Piper
Bond, President and CEO of Living Classrooms Foundation.
The facility was funded initially with a $5 million contribution from the Cupid
Foundation, the private foundation of Kevin
Plank, Founder and CEO of Under Armour. Additional funding
partners include:
- The Baltimore Ravens - contributed to support health and
wellness programming and to transform an old outdoor basketball
court into a state-of-the-art indoor turf field and covered
pavilion
- Joseph and Debra Weinberg -
contributed to support the Workforce Development Center
- Under Armour, The State of
Maryland, Sagamore Development and Clark Construction Group,
LLC also contributed towards this project
Program partners include: Ray
Lewis and Power 52, Joe
Ehrmann's InSideOut Initiative, Cal
Ripken, Sr. Foundation, The Launch Academy Entrepreneurship
Program, Baltimore City Health Department, Baltimore City Public Schools, Mayor's Office
of Employment Development, Johns Hopkins
University and Medical Institute, University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC),
Guckenheimer, The Family League, Junior Achievement, and the Jr.
NBA program. The site is also a Maryland State Department of
Education 21st Century Community Learning Center.
In addition to the investment in infrastructure and programs,
Under Armour teammates will volunteer their time and talents at the
facility. The expanded program offerings will provide opportunities
for volunteer and community engagement from businesses around the
city, community leaders, and first responders. On the grand opening
day, Living Classrooms, along with corporate and community
partners, continued its tradition of providing over 250 families
residing in the community with Thanksgiving dinners.
About Under Armour, Inc.
Under Armour (NYSE: UA,
UA.C), the originator of performance footwear, apparel and
equipment, revolutionized how athletes across the world dress.
Designed to make all athletes better, the brand's innovative
products are sold worldwide to athletes at all levels. The Under
Armour Connected Fitness™ platform powers the world's largest
digital health and fitness community through a suite of
applications: UA Record, MapMyFitness, Endomondo and MyFitnessPal.
The Under Armour global headquarters is in Baltimore, Maryland. For further information,
please visit the Company's website at www.uabiz.com.
About Living Classrooms and the Baltimore Target Investment
Zone
For the past 30 years, Living Classrooms has worked to
strengthen communities and inspire young people to achieve their
potential through hands-on education and job training, using urban,
natural, and maritime resources as "living classrooms." Our
effective programs serve 1,100 youth and young adults daily in
Baltimore and Washington, DC and the surrounding
metropolitan areas, and have a special emphasis on serving
disadvantaged and at-risk populations.
In 2007, Living Classrooms Foundation launched the Target
Investment Zone, a comprehensive strategic community initiative
inspired by the Harlem Children's Zone model in New York. The Target Investment Zone (TIZ)
concentrates core education, workforce development, and health and
wellness programs within an impoverished area of East Baltimore, and is focused on disrupting a
cycle of generational poverty. The TIZ is home to 35,000 people, 18
schools, and over 2,500 public housing units including those in
Pleasant View Gardens and Perkins
Homes. Other neighborhoods within the TIZ include those
surrounding Patterson Park and Johns
Hopkins Hospital, Oldtown/Middle
East, Fayette Street Corridor, and McElderry Park. These
neighborhoods suffer from low educational achievement, high
poverty, high-density crime and recidivism rates, chronic health
problems, and staggering unemployment. Within the Zone, Living
Classrooms is achieving success by building a
cradle-to-college/career pipeline with educational, after-school,
job-training, and wellness programs, and other comprehensive,
multigenerational services for residents in an effort to reverse
the effects of generational poverty that have persisted for
decades. Living Classrooms will use its performance management
system, LCFstat to measure, monitor, and evaluate the
quality and efficacy of programs and services.
A key strategy of this comprehensive approach has been the
establishment of Community Hubs in East
Baltimore. Living Classrooms has successfully worked with
the community to create, renovate, and manage several inviting,
accessible neighborhood facilities that are providing crucially
needed education, workforce training, and health and wellness
services to residents of all ages. The UA House at Fayette operated
by Living Classrooms is the heartbeat of the Baltimore Target
Investment Zone.
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SOURCE Under Armour