Skateboarders are some of the world’s most hard working people, and luckily for skateboarding, there are many ways skateboarders give back to their communities. However, none are arguably more impactful than the skate nonprofits out there pouring their blood, sweat and tears into supporting, growing and sustaining skate communities around the world.Every non-profit in skateboarding was founded by special individuals who took it upon themselves to create something that truly impacts and supports others. At Skateism, we want to have the honor of highlighting each and every one of them. But with so many wonderful non-profits out there and more and more being created every week, we’re going to need your help. We ask our readers to let us know what non-profits inspire your community, so we can continue to shine a light on these special groups of people who make skateboarding a better place for all.
To kick things off, we’re going to start with 6 Skate Non Profits To Support Today. We invite you to check in with us periodically for a new list of nonprofits you can support and help spread the gifts of skateboarding throughout the world.
Words by Zane Foley
Bridge To Skate
We all like to think skateboarding is one of the most accessible activities for young people to start. However, with skateboarding completes in 2021 nearly hitting the $200 mark, getting started isn’t as easy (or affordable) as it used to be. Luckily for skateboarding, individuals like Bridge to Skate Founder and Director Chantelle Heroux, have taken it upon themselves to help young skaters “Find their bridge to skate forward in life.”
Truly, Bridge to Skate does everything they can to make skateboarding more accessible to transform the lives of youth who otherwise might not have the privilege. Or as Bridge to Skate puts it on their website: “Creating dynamic new paths to self-confidence, personal empowerment and responsibility for each other and their communities.”
While Bridge to Skate has accomplished a ton of work in the Los Angeles area, bringing ramps to underserved communities like Compton and partnering with Vans to donate car-loads of shoes to the youth of Watts, this nonprofit proudly has deep roots in Latin America. With their Bridge to Skate Honduras, the nonprofit enjoys hosting contests at La Kenedy Skatepark and throughout other regions of Latina America online with the hashtag #Conexionskatefemenil.
College Skateboarding Educational Foundation CSEF
Skateboarders like all groups of people are at the mercy of caricatures and stereotypes. However, thanks to nonprofits like the College Skateboarding Educational Foundation, the narrative depicting ‘what is a skateboarder’ is changing.
CSEF is a nonprofit that aims to support college skateboarders through awarded college scholarships. Since being founded in 2018, CSEF has already awarded 23 scholarships to a plethora of student skateboarders. Each recipient has to send a detailed record of their transcripts and a personal letter illustrating why they deserve a scholarship. Some of their recipients include: Marsha Howard, who between working the office of Thrasher Magazine, is studying Child Development at San Francisco State. Another recipient, Max Dubler, a LGBTQI+ skate activist and writer, is currently working on his Masters in Urban Planning from the University of Los Angeles (UCLA).
While CSEF has taken a huge step in supporting student skateboarders, they are still operating at the mercy of donations. With nearly 100% of proceeds going straight toward student scholarships, you can directly impact the life of a student skateboarder today by following the link: https://www.collegeskateboarding.com/give
Every application cycle, CSEF receives over 100 applications with every story proving through vigorous rounds until the final few are chosen. Their board of directors have spoken on how every single one of their applicants deserve a scholarship; they just don’t have the funding. Not yet anyway. The more skateboarders who graduate college, the better skateboarding will be as a whole. As CSEF writes so elegantly on their website, “Everyone deserves a chance at pursuing a college education, and skateboarders are no exception.” As it stands, the College Skateboarding Educational Foundation is the only national college scholarship fund for student skateboarders. Each and every one of their board members believe, as lifelong skaters who have all experienced the education system in one way or another, giving back seems like the only option. One skateboarder at a time.
Free Movement Skateboarding
As skateboarders, we are all aware of the tremendous gifts skateboarding has given us. None of us would be where or who we are today without them. That being said, it’s nonprofits like Free Movement Skateboarding that have made it their mission to share these gifts of skateboarding to those who need it most.
Free Movement SB, has been doing amazing work in Athens, Greece. Utilizing a mobile skatepark, the nonprofit brings skateboarding to young people from diverse backgrounds and genders to promote social cohesion, empowerment and wellbeing. One of the groups Free Movement SB has been able to impact most, is the refugee population in Athens. Beginning in March 2017, the nonprofit began running skateboard sessions for young refugees, migrants and local Athenians in the hopes of promoting equality, inclusion, well-being, and social cohesion. Bringing a van full of generously donated skateboards and safety gear, Free Movement SB has gone on to schedule weekly skateboarding workshops at different camps, squats and community centers, partnering with NGOs and generous brands and volunteers donating funds, time and equipment. We are happy to report, when running at full capacity, Free Movement SB runs 9 sessions a week, including a dedicated Women’s Program, teaching people of 18 different nationalists and over 44% women participation overall.
Even with all this amazing work Free Movement SB has accomplished, they still need our help to grow their reach even further. With aspirations to teach more sessions and eventually open and run their own public skatepark and youth center in downtown Athens, the nonprofit aims to provide a safe space for developmental youth to further the goals of: Equality, inclusion and well being.
You can donate today and help Free Movement SB #GiveSkateboarding to a growing number of young people who need it most. This is what it’s all about. This is skateboarding.
Salad Days of Skateboarding
Wherever there is cement, there is the potential for skateboarding. And wherever there is skateboarding, there’s a potential to create community, break down barriers and provide a respite from the pressure and difficulties of daily life. That is precisely the maxim followed by Salad Days of Skateboarding, who derive their name from “My Salad Days.”
Originally written by Shakespeare, the expression is used to describe carefree days of youthful innocence. Unfortunately for many children around the world, Salad Days are fewer and far between. This nonprofit focuses on spreading and promoting the gifts skateboarding offers to people of all ages around the world; to break down barriers of economic inequality, racial and gender division through the self expression that is skateboarding. Salad Days of Skateboarding does so by supporting the developing and underserved skateboarding communities around the world through skateboarding equipment donation and mentorship.
Salad Days of Skateboarding was inspired by Pro Skater Nestor Judkins, who founded the nonprofit after his many global travels. Nestor expresses how he would often find himself in these incredible skate scenes that had zero to little access to skate shops. He describes seeing groups of 10-12 children all sharing one board to which he began to bring extra boards and shoes to give to these kids everywhere he went. Then it hit him. If he could set up a nonprofit, increase the boards, increase the equipment, more lives would be touched and skateboarding’s gifts would be planted to sow deep roots in authentic and diverse skate communities across the globe. With their sights set on hitting Pakistan later this year, Nestor and Salad Days of Skateboarding offer events and fundraisers to help raise funds for boards and shoes. You can put a skateboard in the hands of a child who needs it most and watch as their smile lights up the world. Follow the link to shop Salad Days limited edition products and t-shirts today and be an integral part of bringing the joy of skateboarding to someone who needs it most.
SkatePal
It sounds impossible to anticipate the impact a skateboarding nonprofit would have on a community that has never seen a skateboard. However, for SkatePal it all began by the youth of a nation falling in love just as we all have, by the happenstance of witnessing a skater.
In 2006, Charlie Davis, a volunteer English teacher would skate through the Palestinian streets after class. Charlie was amazed to find crowds of kids gathering around him, asking how he made the board jump in the air assuming he must have magnets in his shoes. It was love at first sight for skateboarding from the youth of a nation under military occupation that sparked the idea for SkatePal. Today and since 2013, SkatePal’s impact in Palestine is undeniable and endures as one of the most palpable nonprofits in skateboarding. Their mission: to support communities throughout Palestine by promoting the social, health and wellbeing benefits of skateboarding to enhance the lives of local youth.
SkatePal has several projects underway you can support today by becoming a donor or volunteer. Since 2018, through the help of volunteers both local and international, SkatePal has been hosting regular skateboarding classes at The Sareyyet Club in central Ramallah. The classes have been a huge success with a 50% female participation, strengthening the community and giving young people a means of self empowerment and expression. With wooden ramps being built and maintained by volunteers and with little to no access to a skateshop, every dollar donated goes into providing equipment and keeping the ramps up to date.
Volunteers and donations are the lifeblood of SkatePal, who through their fundraising and volunteer work were able to construct Rosa Park, in 2015 and Jayyous Skatepark in 2017, with the help of several nonprofits and local and international volunteers. These skateparks continue to host skateboarding workshops, providing loaner equipment and skateboarding lessons and art workshops. Remarkably, daily attendance for these classes average around 40 actively participating young people, alongside accompanying families hosting picnics, trying skateboarding for the first time and interacting with the communal space. Through donations and volunteers and the dedicated work of every member of SkatePal, what began as a wood mini ramp in 2014 and a handful of students, has grown to see several skateparks built in Palestine by one of the most impactful nonprofits in skateboarding. You can follow @SkatePal on Instagram to stay up to date with their projects and take a look at their latest project series of cookbooks celebrating Palestinian cuisine. No matter how you choose to get involved, supporting SkatePal today means a better future for tomorrow.
Cuba Skate
It might sound simple but the philosophy of Cuba Skate has produced a profound impact. “Skate With Us”: Come to Cuba and engage with the local skate community. That’s the message of Cuba Skate, who invites volunteers, brands and pros to help work at the wood shop, lend a hand at the DIY, and of course, skate around local spots and plazas with their team. In Cuba, every skater is welcome, as the non-profit encourages people to donate, travel, partner and skate as meaningful ways to join the Cuba Skate mission. A mission to support the evolution of skateboarding in Cuba, hosting a variety of service-orientated cultural exchanges for skateboarders, students and volunteers.
Fresh off from celebrating their 10 year anniversary, Cuba Skate provides a plethora of opportunities for volunteers and patrons alike. The nonprofit invites you to their woodworking workshops, where students are taught how to manufacture and recycle skateboarding decks to help reach and promote sustainability. Their craft class located in Havana, is just $50 for 3 hours for skateboarders and non-skaters alike to enjoy an intimate cultural exchange. Cuba Skate also encourages volunteers to participate in their AirBnb Social Impact Experience, where you get to experience a “day in the life” with their organization and participants.
Participants head to the DIY Skatepark to personally build a hand in impacting the local skate scene, scan through the city helping to deliver donations and materials for their Cuban participants, while enjoying provincial travel throughout Cuba. For Cuba Skate, it’s their way of ensuring anyone who wants to come to Cuba as a skateboarder or volunteer creates an authentic Cuban experience that not only is unforgettable for the participant, but impacts the skate community in a positive and everlasting way. You can enjoy the island and support sustainability and the growth of Cuba’s skateboarding communities. Since 2010, Cuba Skate has hosted thousands of volunteers from across the globe; over 4,500 hundred actually. If there ever was a win-win, it’s Cuba Skate.
