On Nov. 10, 140 students at an Ankeny elementary school got the chance to get fitted for a helmet and get their own skateboard at a giveaway hosted by Skate DSM, an organization that wants to grow and support the skateboarding community.
Skateboarding is more than doing kicks and flips. According to Skate DSM, skateboarding fosters community, creativity, health, perseverance and leadership. Northeast Elementary students got the chance to join in on what makes skateboarding special.
It all started back in September when Skate DSM and USA Skateboarding paid a visit to Northeast Elementary with Rio Batan, a renowned skateboarder, showing the students cool tricks and talked about working hard to reach your goals.
Originally, 50 students had the chance to sign up for a free skateboard and helmet at the event, but 140 ended up signing up. So, Skate DSM made sure all the students got the chance to get a hot set of wheels.
“Skate DSM and USA Skateboarding found a way to get a skateboard for every student that signed up,” said Kristin Barber, principal of Northeast Elementary. “We just know that they can have fun in their community and this is a great way to provide access to that.”
