Whether with skateparks, playgrounds or inventive and ambitious play spaces, Built to Play continues to have an impact on its host communities of Southeast Michigan and Western New York. Each development makes a difference—and always comes with some exciting details.
Interested in learning more? Here are a few news links that cover some of our favorite successes over the past calendar year.
Tony Hawk-sponsored skate park opens in southwest Detroit
Detroit Free Press (Detroit, MI)
Detroit’s Riverside Park has been revitalized into a lush greenspace now cherished by scores of Detroiters—including skateboarders. Adding to the City of Detroit’s investment, a matching grant through the Built to Play fund at the Tony Hawk Foundation helped to make this skatepark a reality, and it’s now a great example of what’s possible for the many skateparks in progress throughout Southeast Michigan. Read more at http://bit.ly/RiversideSkatePark.
Skateboard park fund is created
The Post-Journal (Jamestown, NY)
Before the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation could raise Jamestown skateboard park funds to reach a matching grant of up to $250K from the Built to Play fund with the Tony Hawk Foundation, it had to come up with a cool, catchy name for its fundraising efforts. Collaborating with city and area skateboard officials, they arrived at SK8 JTNY—and have been rolling ever since. Read more about the winter start of their efforts at http://bit.ly/SK8JTNY.
Work is done, time for play at Highland Ave.
The Salamanca Press (Salamanca, NY)
It took a litany of local volunteers and weeks of time, but last September, the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation and KaBOOM! teamed with Salamanca community members to unveil its ambitious new Highland Avenue playground that was supported through the Built to Play initiative, Unique Playground Builds. It’s been open and enjoyed throughout this summer, but read how it all started at http://bit.ly/HighlandPlayground.