Service club vows boost in helping, giving in '12

The Phoenix Active 20-30 Club hopes to increase its service and philanthropy in 2012.

"My goal is to continue to grow and do more and give back more to the community," said Chad Bays, a northeast Phoenix resident who is the group's community activity officer. "It's one thing if you can stroke a check, but everyone gets more out of it if we can do several events and establish a relationship with the kids."

Phoenix Active 20-30 Club primarily works with Children First Academy of Phoenix, a charter school that serves homeless students; Phoenix Youth at Risk, a non-profit dedicated to mentoring at-risk kids; and Wilson Elementary School, a public school in central Phoenix with a large number of low-income kids. But the all-male club, which has about 50 members ages 20 to 40, also works with other Valley charities.

The organization this week donated more than $2,000 worth of clothes, books and bedding to UMOM New Day Centers, a non-profit serving the Valley's homeless community.

"It makes us feel better to be able to help and have a positive influence on the lives of others," said Todd Sommers, president of the group and a northeast Phoenix resident.

The members of Phoenix Active 20-30 Club have celebrated the holidays with the organizations they support all month long.

"We rented a bowling alley just two weeks ago and went bowling with students from Children First Academy. And the children received items they needed and a gift from Santa," said Sommers, a lobbyist who works in defense and homeland security.

The Valley of the Sun Active 20-30 Club is a peer organization consisting solely of women. Both groups hosted the bowling alley event.

"A lot of these kids, without the 20-30s, they're not going to have a Christmas," said Dina Gerdon, community development director of Children First Academy.. "The other big thing is that having a positive male role model is imperative in these kids' lives."

While there are other Active 20-30 Clubs in Arizona, at 79 years old, the Phoenix chapter is the state's oldest.

"We draw from all over. we have a couple of members that live in Chandler," Sommers said. "We serve charities throughout the Phoenix metropolitan area."

Bays hopes members are in the lives of the kids they serve throughout 2012.

"My goal for the club is to have some kind of cohesiveness with these kids," said Bays, an insurance broker. "A lot of people are in and out of their lives and I just want us to establish a rapport with them."

Information about the Phoenix Active 20-30 Club: phoenix2030.com.