Friess Family Foundation celebrates opening of Maryvale YMCA

Foster and Lynn, Greg O'Brien and Pablo Munoz

Lynn and Foster recently joined friends from the Maryvale community in Phoenix to celebrate the grand opening of the Maryvale Young Men’s Christian Association. What started as an idea over a simple game of golf, is now the nation’s newest, state-of-the-art YMCA facility.

Realizing a shared vision and heart for troubled youth, the Friess Family Foundation put forth a matching grant of $3 million dollars for the development of the Maryvale YMCA. Partnering with a host of community leaders, the Foundation sees the new YMCA as an integral part of transforming the lives of Maryvale’s youth.

A primarily Latino neighborhood, the average adult in Maryvale has a 9^th grade education. With over 200,000 residents, nearly half of the population are children. Realizing that crime, gangs and drugs were robbing the youth of their potential, the idea of the Maryvale YMCA aims to serve not only the youth, but the entire community, offering everything from financial stewardship classes to the latest in health fitness.

As one of its main tenets, the Friess Family Foundation supports youth mentoring programs, following in the words of Galatians 6:2, “When you carry one another’s burdens, so you will fulfill the law of Christ.” “The only difference between a child who makes it and one who doesn’t, is one caring adult,” says Foster.

The Maryvale YMCA is particularly special to Lynn and Foster as they too are Phoenix Valley residents. “We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to be involved with this project and excited to see such an amazing facility for the Maryvale community,” says Friess. “It’s imperative that we continue to work to educate and mentor our youth, especially in challenging communities such as Maryvale.”

To visit the Maryvale YMCA and see pictures of the new facility, click here.