Ahwatukee Foothills YMCA Opens Teen And Youth Center

The Ahwatukee Foothills Family YMCA, a nonprofit organization serving the community, has opened the doors to its new “state-of-the-art” Team Ortho Youth and Teen Center, giving the children in the community an entertaining place to visit after school.
The ribbon cutting for the center occurs on Aug. 13 from 5:30 to 6:20 p.m., where refreshments and tasty appetizers will be given to the public.
The Team Ortho Youth and Teen Center is located in the east-wing of the Ahwatukee YMCA facilities, near the entrance of the building.
The center, accumulating more than 1,500 square feet in length, is designed to allow the youth of Ahwatukee a safe haven where they can indulge themselves with an array of fun utilities.
The center was made possible by community donations from Ahwatukee organizations like the agents at Keller Williams Sonoran Living, the Kiwanis Club of Ahwatukee, and Dr. Ken Danyluk of Team Orthodontics, who made a substantial naming donation.
When Danyluk and his wife, Jacquie, decided to move from Canada to the Ahwatukee area they both wanted to give back to the community.
They were brain storming ideas on who they should give back to, and decided to help youths in the area by providing them with a safe place they can call their own.
“They’re really the life and blood of the community moving forward, but particularly the youth and teens they need a space to have for their own to be with their peers to learn from each other,” Danyluk said. “It kind of came back to if we can provide a space for the youth and teens in the area. The more we talked about it the more we realized the YMCA had that same concept and that’s where the two came together.
”By having a substantial donation towards getting the center completed, the Youth and Teen Center is dedicated in honor of Team Ortho’s charitable generosity.
Center for youth-
While venturing into the center, the occupants have their choices of fun entertainment by having a library of reading material, an air hockey table located in the center room, HD televisions mounted on the walls where they can play Wii games, computers to surf the Internet and ’80s-inspired arcade modules.The youths are also able to complete their studies by the juice bar, formally known as the juice caboose, along with the chance to simply unwind from a day of school while their parents get in an afternoon workout session.Although the center hasn’t officially had its ribbon cutting ceremony, the staff at the Ahwatukee Foothills Family YMCA has allowed the eager youths to occupy the space days in advance. READ MORE