Tony Hawk’s foundation offers financial help to State College’s High Point Skatepark
The foundation of skateboarding legend Tony Hawk recently announced it’s offering State College’s upcoming skatepark a financial boost.
The Skatepark Project, founded by Hawk in 2002, is giving a $30,000 grant to High Point Skatepark in an effort to help make the longtime project a reality. Local organizers have recently shifted their focus to fundraising, and the hope is to open the 20,000-square-foot skatepark by late next summer.
“The Skatepark Project is proud to support a project like the High Point Skatepark,” Benjamin Anderson Bashein, executive director of The Skatepark Project, said in a written statement. “It’s clear that so many from the community have come together to get this project off the ground; their dedication, hard work and engagement is inspiring and we look forward to seeing them reach their fundraising and ground breaking goals.”
High Point Skatepark, formerly referred to simply as Action Sports Park, is a project residents have clamored about for more than a decade. With help from local professionals and skatepark designers — known the world over for their expertise — a design was finalized in April, with the intent to build a skatepark for all wheels (skateboards, BMX bikes, in-line skates, scooters, etc.), for all ages and for all skill levels.
More than $800,000 has so far been raised toward the $1.9 million project. Although the grant from Hawk’s foundation still leaves a significant portion left to be raised, the announcement is an important one for a volunteer group seeking positive attention and to attract large and/or corporate donors.
“We are so excited that The Skatepark Project saw the need in our community for a skatepark and decided to help our efforts,” said Gordon Kauffman, one of the skatepark’s lead volunteers. “Its support is a huge boon to our fundraising efforts and ultimate goal of building a safe place where kids can skate and hang out with their friends.”
Hawk’s foundation began 20 years ago in an effort to foster camaraderie and active lifestyles by creating safe and inclusive skateparks in municipalities around the country. According to the nonprofit’s website, more than 600 public skatepark projects — in all 50 states — have received more than $10 million to date.
The foundation was originally called the Tony Hawk Foundation but changed its name in 2020 to better reflect its goals.
Hawk is arguably the most iconic skateboarder and pioneer in the action sport’s history. He won more than five dozen contests between 1983 and 2003, offered his name (and image) to a popular video-game series that has spawned 19 titles, and became the first to land a documented “900” trick (two-and-a-half mid-air revolutions). He was also invited by then-President Barack Obama to the White House, where he skateboarded on the grounds. And he’s made a number of TV/movie appearances, ranging from appearances on MTV’s Jackass to The Masked Singer, Hell’s Kitchen and Celebrity Wheel of Fortune.
