Special to viewMarty Hennessy, left, director of tennis at the Sterling Club at Turnberry Place, presents honorary memberships to tennis stars Mike Bryan, right, and his brother Bob as Glendolyn Alex, center, founder of Camp Bryan, looks on. The presentation took place during the camp, held at the 2827 Paradise Road club last December. The Bryan brothers participated to help the camp raise funds for youngsters in foster care.
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Glendolyn Alex has two professions. She's a massage therapist who travels to exotic places like Monte Carlo with top tennis stars. She's also a social worker who sees Las Vegas children on the other side of the socioeconomic spectrum.
So, Alex masterminded Camp Bryan -- a high-end two-day tennis clinic -- to help support young people in foster care.
Proceeds were earmarked to benefit New Beginnings, a nonprofit Nevada youth advocacy group that was established in 2006. The group operates homes for troubled youths.
"Adolescents fall through the cracks," Alex said. "They're not cute enough for people to pay attention to them and want to help them become productive adults."
Camp Bryan was held Dec. 14 and 15 at the Sterling Club at Turnberry Place, 2827 Paradise Road. The fundraising event was hosted by Mike and Bob Bryan, ranked No. 1 in men's tennis doubles.
Alex travels with them as their personal massage therapist through her business The Massage Advantage. She approached the brothers with her fundraiser idea late last fall.
"They said, 'We'd love to, but after the Davis Cup,' " she recalled.
The Davis cup was held Nov. 30 to Dec. 4 in Portland, Ore., where the Bryan brothers beat Russia's Nikolay Davydenko and Igor Andreev to take the top title for the United States.
Camp Bryan participants received fitness evaluations, tennis lessons, shared meals and played in a round robin with Pro Am players.
A facet of it included an online auction of signed sports gear and memorabilia -- tennis balls, photographs, the Bryan brothers' court towels from their win in the Australian Open. A silent auction included items like dinners, time share use and Alex's personal donations -- a massage therapy package and time share use.
Terry and Janice Leysath, who play tennis at the Amanda & Stacy Darling Memorial Tennis Center, 7901 W. Washington Ave., participated in Camp Bryan. They had never heard of New Beginnings, but said they found it cool to help its cause.
"The Bryan brothers could go national, they could lend their name to something with glitz and glamour," said Janice Leysath. "But to help out this segment of our town, it just shows the type of people they are."
New Beginnings' first facility for youth was established last summer in Aliante. It's licensed to house between four and six occupants, ages 11 to 17, with live-in counselors.
The organization also established a second youth home, which opened on April 5. For confidentiality reasons, locations of such houses are not publicly disclosed.
Because Alex only conceived of Camp Bryan about six weeks before it was held, getting the word out was so limited that the event ended up losing money, she explained.
She said that not only did she cover all expenses out of her own pocket, but she also raised $1,125 in donations for the youth home.
"The funds helped us open the second home," said Femia Pittman, administrative director of New Beginnings. "It takes a lot (of money), what with the housing requirements and getting it up to specifications for the state licensing guidelines."
For Camp Bryan II, which is planned for December of this year, Alex vowed to promote it better and sooner. She's setting her sights high.
"I want to raise $100,000," she said. "That's my goal."
New Beginnings is setting its sights high, too. In the next five years, Pittman said, it expects to have six youth homes in operation.
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