UA Men and Mackey Foundation give back to Albany youth

ALBANY, N.Y. ( NEWS10 ) — The UAlbany Men’s basketball team is hosting a youth basketball camp this week in partnership with an organization spearheaded by a former Great Dane.

Denyse Mackey, chairperson of the Warren & Denyse Mackey Foundation sponsored 40 kids to attend the camp as a way to give back to the underserved youth in the city of Albany. This is the second time head coach Dwayne Killings and Mackey have teamed up to help the youth in Albany and each time it pays dividends.

Although the kids are getting golden nuggets on the hardwood, Mackey believes the benefit from this camp and others the foundation put on will lead to more success stories.

“I’m trying to instill a message in these kids of you want to aspire to go to college, it starts now. With being a great student, with being healthy, with, you know, having a schedule, having discipline,” Mackey said. “So this is much more than basketball. It’s about learning life skills, it’s about being a team member and learning a whole bunch more.”

Much like Mackey, coach Killings is active in the Albany community. He believes the Mackey family shares the heart of the community.

“Yes, she’s doing the work. I mean, I think there’s a lot of people that have really good ideas, but you need people on the ground there willing to do the heavy lifting and create opportunity,” Killings said. “And that’s what this is really about. And I think really it’s about for her and her family they have great hearts.”

Mackey started the foundation after the passing of her late husband Warren in 2020. She said he had a love for basketball and had a presence around the Albany community.

“We wanted to keep his legacy alive. He was known as the mayor of Albany,” said Mackey. “He knew everybody. He loved everybody, and he wanted to give back, and that’s what this foundation is trying to do, and keeping his memory alive.”

The camp will continue for the rest of the week. Camp time is from 9 am to 3 pm.

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