Baltimore Celebrates The Grand Opening Of Pioneering Community Center, Brought To Life By Living Classrooms, Kevin Plank And Under Armour

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