It has been years since the Allegany/Olean area has had a public skate park, but a group of dedicated volunteers are working to change that by leading efforts to fundraise for and construct the Allegany River Skate Park.
That group of volunteers began fundraising efforts last year when learning that the Tony Hawk Foundation and Ralph Wilson Jr. Foundation was promoting a grant to help build public concrete skate parks in communities across Western New York and Michigan.
“There has been a group of local skaters and BMXers who want to find a place to build a public skate park in the Olean/Allegany area,” said Chris Maynard, Allegany Rive Skate Park volunteer and advocate. “At the same time, the Tony Hawk Foundation has been promoting a special grant through the Ralph Wilson Jr. Foundation in WNY, where the Tony Hawk Foundation reached out to local residents through social media.
“The only public access park was in Olean, but it was torn down,” said volunteer Brett Smith. “Therefore there currently isn’t a free, open to the public, accessible skate park in the area to accommodate the youth and even adults, who want to ride, skate or BMX in a safe atmosphere. It will also provide them with a place to go to besides riding on the streets as well as it will provide good exercise.”
Recently the Allegany Village Board voted unanimously to approve a location for the future park, which will be placed along the Allegheny River adjacent to the Allegany River Park.
The group decided to take the next step in their fundraising efforts by establishing the Allegany River Skate Park Fund at the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation.
“CRCF will play a role in helping us through marketing, guidance in the donation process, and provide us with 501(c)(3) status, so we can move forward with the grant application, etc.,” said Jen Delong, an ARSP volunteer.
All gifts to the Allegany River Skate Park Fund will be tax deductible to the full extent of the law.
Allegany River Skate Park volunteers plan to begin finalizing a grant application to the Tony Hawk Foundation this summer. After approved, all gifts to the Allegany River Skate Park Fund will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $250,000.
There will be a number of upcoming opportunities to support the Allegany River Skate Park, including the second annual skate park fundraiser on June 13, which will be held at the Allegany
Firemen’s Park and will include live music, a Chinese auction, kids’ games, skating lessons and more.
ARSP is also planning involvement with StrOlean events and a river float, regatta-style event for August.
Donations can be made to the Allegany River Skate Park Fund at CRCF, 301 North Union St., Suite 203 in Olean or online at cattfoundation.org
The Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation is the area’s supportive, responsive and trusted community foundation. Established in 1994, CRCF is growing good by connecting donors to the causes they care about most in the region. Grants from the foundation support many areas, including education, scholarships, health care, the arts, community development, human service, and youth development. To learn more, call (716) 301-CRCF (2723), email [email protected], or visit online at www.cattfoundation.org. CRCF is also on Facebook (facebook.com/cattfoundation) and Twitter (@CattFoundation).
