The Niverville Skatepark suddenly burst to life with many many young people on skateboards. It was so exciting to see the skatepark's current relevance years after its conception. Yet this unforeseen emergence meant a major increase in unsupervised activity and so it was our job to facilitate this as best we could. Two things became inevitable: our inability to monitor the skatepark around the clock, and the kids propensity for causing trouble after enough time without enough aim.
Autumn, 2010.
No sign of the skatepark's activity letting up. The activity was exciting, but the potential trouble brewing each day was a bit of a hassle to us, as our need to monitor the park was over and above our already busy schedules. To our amazement, instead of the child-mob getting out of hand, a simple idea planted in their heads by one of us led to the kids initiating a full-on campaign to raise money for the skatepark by means of a 24-hour skate-athon!! Now the idea was completely planned and carried out by the kids at first, and they did a great job, but it wasn't actually going to work fully. So we came alongside their ambition, and set up the fundraising campaign, helped plan the event, and made it happen with them.
Halloween, 2010.
The first-ever 24-hour skate-athon took place. The kids were able to raise over $5000 for the skatepark, and they facilitated a period of constant skateboarding for 24 hours straight. Professionals from the Edge Skatepark in Winnipeg came out to put on a demonstration and help us out. A few skateboarding companies sponsored the event, and offered prizes to many of the participants. All in all...a story of great success, as we truly believe in the hope and potential in every young person.
*our banquet fundraiser is WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 24TH!
No comments:
Post a Comment