Via Sun Post
Former Minnesota Vikings player Adam Thielen has given a financial boost to the Zanewood Teen Center project. Late last month, the Thielen Foundation announced a $100,000 donation to help fund Brooklyn Park’s new and improved youth complex.
“We believe that kids in every ZIP code deserve to have the same resources and programs at their fingertips,” Executive Director Amy Sinclair said. “This state has supported [Adam Thielen] in every way through his path to be successful and he just wants to give back.”
Adam and his wife, Caitlin, founded their nonprofit in 2018 to increase access to youth athletic programming. While he is now playing for the Carolina Panthers, much of Thielen’s philanthropy is based in his home state.
According to Executive Director Amy Sinclair, the Zanewood project came on their radar through a Brooklyn Park nonprofit called Minnesota Chill.
“We loved their mentoring, their academic support for kids,” Sinclair said regarding Minnesota Chill. “Keeping kids off the streets, engaged in sports, learning life lessons just really means a lot to us—and they were having a hard time finding the rental space to run their basketball league.”
The new Zanewood Teen Center will provide a more permanent home for Minnesota Chill and similar athletic programs. While the project received city council approval in 2024, its groundbreaking has been repeatedly pushed back.
