Contact:
Angie Berk
Vice President of Marketing
AZ on the Rocks - Indoor Climbing, Inc.
E-mail: angie@azontherocks.com
www.azontherocks.com
Phone: 480-689-5955
Fax: 480-657-2113
AZ on the Rocks - Indoor Climbing, Inc. and Scottsdale Prevention Institute Announce Community Partnership to Benefit Children in the Phoenix Area
Scottsdale, Arizona, October 20, 2003 - What do a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing substance abuse and an indoor rock climbing gym have in common? They share concern for children and families in the Phoenix metropolitan area. AZ on the Rocks - Indoor Climbing, Inc. and Scottsdale Prevention Institute (SPI) have joined together in a community partnership to help children and their families improve their quality of life by decreasing and preventing drug and alcohol abuse, and to promote the health and self-confidence of kids.
According to the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administrations (SAMHSA), as of 1998, "the youth drug use rate of 14.4% in Arizona was higher than the national average of 9.9%." Founded in 1985, SPI works to improve the quality of life for children of Arizona and their families by providing services to decrease and prevent drug and alcohol abuse and to promote the mental health and well-being of children and their families. SPI provides a wide selection of programs for children and families, from prevention programs to programs for those children who have already experimented with drugs. In 2001-2002, 13,405 children and 10,600 adults benefited from SPI services.
Scottsdale Prevention Institute includes in its mission that "each school and community must be a part of the approach to planning and prioritizing of services for substance abuse and mental health." SPI has been in partnerships since its inception with organizations such as the City of Scottsdale, Scottsdale Unified School District, the Scottsdale Police Department, and Scottsdale Healthcare. Their partnership with AZ on the Rocks will continue their dedication to work with corporate community members.
"Our original concept of an indoor climbing gym included ways of helping the children of our community," states Kevin J. Berk, president of AZ on the Rocks. "This is a family owned business; our parents taught us to give back to the community. Being parents ourselves, we wanted to be able to combine, in some way, indoor climbing and helping kids. When we discovered the work that Scottsdale Prevention Institute does in the valley, we wanted to join its mission. We believe that rock climbing can help to decrease some of the risk factors affecting children by helping them to become healthier and more self confident and giving parents another way to interact with their children."
Rock climbing has become one of the fastest growing sports in the United States. Approximately 6 million Americans engaged in artificial rock climbing in 2002, according to the Outdoor Industry Association. During the last 10 years, writes David Humphries, M.D., in a 1998 article for Medscape Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, "rock climbing has grown from a pursuit engaged in by only a hardy few to a relatively mainstream adventure activity." An article on the "Health A to Z" website (http://www.healthatoz.com) states, "In addition to offering an aerobic workout, rock climbing exercises almost every muscle group….Rock climbing two or more times a week improves your strength, endurance, flexibility and mental toughness." Children and adults of all ages and abilities can safely climb indoors.
AZ on the Rocks' gym will be fully air-conditioned, and include 14,000 square feet of climbing terrain, lead climbing, a large bouldering (free climbing) area, an observation deck and two private party/meeting rooms.
The first phase of the partnership between AZ on the Rocks and Scottsdale Prevention Institute will be to raise money for Scottsdale Prevention Institute through pre-opening membership sales. AZ on the Rocks, anticipating opening in December of 2003, will donate 5% of every pre-opening membership sold from now until December 1, 2003 to SPI. Memberships can be purchased on its website, www.azontherocks.com (where visitors can view 3D drawings of the climbing walls planned for the gym, among other things) or by calling 480-502-9777. All pre-opening memberships have a money-back guarantee; if anyone is unsatisfied with the membership within 30 days of the opening of the gym, they will get 100% of their money back.
For more information about the Scottsdale Prevention Institute, go to their website, www.spi-az.org or call 480-443-3100.
For more information about AZ on the Rocks, visit its website, www.azontherocks.com, or call 480-502-9777.