Press & News Releases

SquashSmarts and the Lenfest Center hosted First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama this afternoon to promote her Let’s Move! health and fitness youth initiative. 350 VIP’s, including Mayor Michael Nutter (Philadelphia, PA), Mayor Cory Booker (Newark, NJ), Mayor Joe Riley (Charleston, SC) and nine of their peers gathered at Philadelphia’s premier Hunting Park youth center to focus a spotlight on childhood obesity.

Local Philadelphia media entrepreneur and philanthropist Chase Lenfest is known for being a pioneer and pushing the envelope when it comes to business and charity. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that his new, swank Center City apartment has already broken all kinds of records. Located in The Residences at Two Liberty Place, the 5,850- square-foot condominium sits on the 46th floor in the luxe contemporary high-rise crafted out of former insurance offices.

Chase Lenfest played for Yale and graduated in 1986, same year as my brother in law Ming Tsai. [This is the famous PBS chef, a former Yale number one player, who is married to Dave’s sister Polly.] He played varsity all four years and still plays. He was a second team all American in college. Chase is also the man behind Squash Smarts in Philadelphia and is the major benefactor in their $10 million center which was built in downtown Philly.

Until last fall, SquashSmarts used courts at Drexel University. But in October, it expanded its program into a new, two-story, 57,000-square-foot facility in Hunting Park. The $9 million center was funded by Ana Maria and H. Chase Lenfest. The same Chase Lenfest who played squash at Yale and showed up at the McMichael School in the bombed-out sneaks.

The facility, which will be known as the H. Chase and Ana Marie Lenfest Community Center, is named after the long time SquashSmarts Board member Chase Lenfest who has been a steadfast supporter of SquashSmarts since its inception.

One of the standouts on the board is Chase Lenfest who gives much of his time and resources and goes out of his way on Saturdays to volunteer with the kids, while simultaneously donating resources to sustain the program well beyond the call of duty.