This Indego Ambassador Is a Local Hero

A lifelong resident of South Philadelphia, Tyrique Glasgow runs the Young Chances Foundation, which helps give local youth a shot at a better life.

Tyrique Glasgow isn’t a person to hold his tongue. The 39-year-old was born and raised in South Philadelphia, an area beset by poverty and other related issues, including health concerns and food insecurity. As a child, he had his own experiences with street life and while undeniably dangerous, things like gun violence, gang activity, and drug trafficking were commonplace. In 2011, when Glasgow returned home after a stint in prison, he became a vocal advocate for change.

“I got tired of people pointing fingers at a lot of the issues,” says Glasgow, who started attending local meetings and programs. “A lot of people were always pointing out problems but never really came with solutions.”

Glasgow decided to play an active role in guiding youth in a positive direction. He started coaching flag football before helping to organize a girl’s dance team. In 2012, he founded the Young Chances Foundation, which is focused on giving young people a chance for a better life. To this day, it partners with organizations — everything from schools to churches to government offices — throughout Philadelphia.

“It started with football but the focus changed towards quality of life issues,” says Glasgow, noting that the work includes emotional and mental health, as well as financial literacy. “It’s all about bridging the gap with resources to help out families.”

In 2019, Glasgow opened a local community center where his organization is able to distribute essentials like food, school supplies, diapers, and clothes to those in need. Twice a week, the center serves up hot meals. Free youth programming, like camps, tutoring, sports programs, and afterschool care continue to be mainstays. For other needs — think rental assistance, addiction treatment, or counseling — Glasgow serves as a connector, always stepping in to help others without judgment. He regularly sets up community resource meetings with police departments, school administrators, and local youth. 

Also active in the South Philadelphia area is Stephanie Ridgeway, who works for the City of Philadelphia as Indego bike share’s community coordinator. As like-minded community healers, it was only natural that Glasgow and Ridgeway would find ways to collaborate and get their organizations working together. The Young Chances Foundation relies on the support of small, community-based organizations like Indego in order to maintain its offerings, while Indego relies on the work of individuals like Glasgow to help build trust and effectively reach historically underserved community members. 

Since 2020, Glasgow has been an Indego Community Ambassador, helping lead bike rides, organize information sessions, and generally serve as a go-to resource for all things bike share. He particularly loves sharing details about Indego’s low-income program, which drastically reduces pricing for individuals that qualify. Glasgow also collaborated with Indego on a community photo shoot so that residents could better see themselves reflected in advertising. 

“It’s about showing people that there are actual human beings who are willing to work with you and figure out how to make things fit for your neighborhood,” says Glasgow. “It’s really about bringing people resources and showcasing some of the positive benefits that can happen long-term.”

As Glasgow sees it, one of the main benefits of Indego’s bike share system is how comprehensive it is, offering folks a form of public transportation alongside group rides and classes where they can get comfortable navigating city streets safely. He also loves that it offers folks a form of recreation that goes beyond basketball or football.

“Biking brings in a social component — it can get you outside your normal atmosphere and environment,” says Glasgow, adding that there’s also research that shows how a 45-minute bike ride can help with anxiety and depression. “These are things that hurt our community every day and that information about how biking can help needs to be out there.”

Glasgow is currently one of the top ten CNN Heros of 2022, a program designed to honor individuals who make extraordinary contributions to humanitarian aid and their local communities. Make sure and vote for Glasgow to become the next CNN Hero of the Year — individuals get ten votes every day through December 7, 2022. 

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The Better Bike Share Partnership is funded by The JPB Foundation as a collaboration between the City of Philadelphia, the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) and the PeopleForBikes Foundation to build equitable and replicable bike share systems. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or sign up for our weekly newsletter. Got a question or a story idea? Email kiran@peopleforbikes.org.