Tony Hawk Foundation Stand Up For Skateparks

WE CAN DO THIS TO OWEN SOUND......volenteers welcome email me dnash@bellnet.ca


Tony Hawk Foundation Stand Up For Skateparks




Tony Hawk: SHRED Presents Stand Up For Skateparks a Sold-Out Success in Beverly Hills

7th Annual Tony Hawk: SHRED Presents Stand Up For Skateparks raises $750,000 for public skateparks.



Tony Hawk lifts a tailgrab frontside air during the Vert Demo at Tony Hawk: SHRED Presents Stand Up For Skateparks in Beverly Hills, California (10/17/10). Photo: Jody Morris

10/18/10 (San Diego, CA) -- Despite grey skies and rain, a sold-out crowd of 1,000 guests attended the 7th annual Tony Hawk: SHRED Presents Stand Up for Skateparks signature benefit in Beverly Hills. Celebrities, athletes, fans and friends of the Tony Hawk Foundation returned to Green Acres Estate, the home of Ron Burkle, for what is considered to be one of the most unique and exciting family events in the Los Angeles area. The event raised $750,000 to further its mission of assisting low-income communities in the effort to build free, quality, public skateparks.



Celebrities including Tony Hawk, Perry Farrell, Dave Navarro, Johnny Knoxville, Chuck Liddell, Leeza Gibbons, Arsenio Hall, Ben Harper, Patrick Dempsey, BMX legend Mat Hoffman and legendary skaters Rodney Mullen, Lance Mountain, and Mike Vallely enjoyed the interactive booths while waiting for the stage and vert ramp to be dried by crews.



The show went on and the expansive estate was transformed into a veritable action-sports festival highlighted by a special performance by Jane's Addiction and a private Vert Demo with Hawk and some of the best skaters and BMX athletes in the sport, including skaters Neal Hendrix, Kevin Staab, Sergie Ventura, Lincoln Ueda, Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins, and BMX legend Mat Hoffman. Fundraising efforts included a live and silent auction featuring one-of-a-kind items: a "Hawkized" DUB edition GT 5.0 Mustang from Galpin Auto Sports, a Roland Sands-designed custom Harley Davidson motorcycle, and the opportunity to be included as a playable character in Tony Hawk's next Activision video game, among others.



Special pledge drives for specific skatepark projects have become an annual occurrence at Stand Up for Skateparks events, and have assisted communities like Compton and the Watts district of Los Angeles. This year's pledge drive benefits the McBride Skatepark project in Long Beach, California. Local skaters from the neighborhood that have played an integral role in the project joined Tony Hawk onstage to pump up the crowd and generate $41,500 in pledges.



Individuals wishing to support the project can still contribute. Text the word RIDE to 90999 via your mobile phone to donate $10 to the Tony Hawk Foundation. Through October 30, 2010, all text donations will directly support the McBride Skatepark project in Long Beach, California.*



The crowd cheered as philanthropist Charles Annenberg joined Hawk onstage to deliver the exciting news of a special gift of $275,000 from Explore.org, through the Annenberg Foundation, to complete the Watts Skatepark—a project whose fundraising was launched at Stand Up For Skateparks exactly a year ago.



The Tony Hawk: SHRED Presents Stand Up for Skateparks benefit was made possible through the support of Activision, Ex Drinks, Mondrian Los Angeles, Dynacraft, Quiksilver Foundation, and T-Mobile USA.



To learn more about the benefit, or for information about the upcoming Tony Hawk: SHRED Presents Stand Up For Skateparks at the Wynn Las Vegas on Saturday, November 6, log on to www.standupforskateparks.org.


A charitable, non-profit organization, the Tony Hawk Foundation was established in 2002 by its namesake, professional skateboarder Tony Hawk, to promote and provide funds for high-quality public skateparks in low-income areas throughout the United States with an emphasis on the word "quality." Since then, the Foundation has awarded $3,261,000 to 463 communities. The Foundation focuses on working with local officials and grassroots, community-based organizations that plan to hire designers and contractors with strong experience designing and building skateparks.



The Tony Hawk Foundation was established by a gift from Tony Hawk. Its directors raise additional funds through events, industry donations, and continuing contributions from Tony and other entities. In addition to skateparks, the Foundation also makes donations to other children-related charities, as chosen by its Board Of Directors. For more information or to make a donation, visit the Foundation's Web site.



* Text the word RIDE to 90999 via your mobile phone to donate $10 to the Tony Hawk Foundation. Through October 30, 2010, all text donations will directly support the McBride Skatepark project in Long Beach, California. When prompted please reply with YES to confirm your gift. Full terms at mGive.com/A

www.getvertical.ca