Last ski season, a couple of avid local snowboarders banded together and created the Alpine Surf Club. Sharing a passion for the winter sport, it was a fun and informal way of getting out each week to shred the slopes of Holiday Valley with friends.
Following the early 2019-20 season ender, the group, spearheaded by Mike Miller and Jason Klein (both of Ellicottville) began working on branding Alpine Surf Club with custom t-shirts, designed by Miller himself. Familiar with the efforts of a local group of skateboarders to build a skatepark in Ellicottville - and former skaters themselves - the duo decided to use their club’s t-shirts to help raise money for the skatepark project. They sold Alpine Surf Club t-shirts to fellow club members, friends and family, and donated all proceeds to the Ellicottville Skatepark fundraising campaign.
Altogether, Alpine Surf Club raised $800 from the sale of t-shirts, and on August 25th, Alpine Surf Club presented a donation check to SK8EVL, the advocating group spearheading the skatepark project.
“Growing up, skateboarding was a nice outlet for me,” said Miller. "It gave me drive, focus, and a sense of accomplishment. I’m glad we could give something back to skateboarding and support a great cause that will benefit our community.”
“On behalf of the Ellicottville Skatepark Committee, we’re excited to have Alpine Surf Club be a part of the fundraising process,” said Chris Perks, SK8EVL committee member. “We’re all a bunch of local skateboarders and snowboarders, and we all have kids who will benefit from the new skatepark. Thank you Alpine Surf Club. Glad to have you a part of this!”
SK8EVL, with support from the Ellicottville Village Board, is currently in fundraising mode and is working towards their goal of raising $250,000 to build a skatepark in Ellicottville’s Village Park. Thanks to a matching grant, every dollar they raise is being doubled by the Tony Hawk Foundation/Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation. As a result, the Alpine Surf Club’s $800 donation will turn into $1,600 to apply towards the construction of the skatepark. It is the initiative taken by individuals and groups like this, that, when pieced together, will result in future success for our community as a whole.
The skatepark committee has until November 30th of this year to raise as much funding as possible for the match. They are currently 1/4 of the way to their goal. Any person, business or organization interested in donating to the project can do so through a secure link at sk8evl.com. Sponsorship packages are available; you can request a sponsorship brochure by emailing [email protected].
Donations can be made to the Ellicottville Skate Park Fund at CRCF, 301 North Union St., Suite 203, Olean, NY, 14760 online at cattfoundation.org.
Established in 1994, the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation 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).
