Cape Breton skateboard park receives $80,000 anonymous donation

Youth in the Cape Breton town of New Waterford have a major fan, but it’s unlikely they’ll ever learn who it is.

A $240,000 skateboard park is going to be built for the community, and an $80,000 donation from an anonymous donor is part of the funding.

“It’s unbelievable and very generous of them,” said Kayden Kirkwood, a Grade 6 student at Breton Education Centre, when he heard about the mystery donor.

Kirkwood said he uses the park frequently and says it’s in bad shape with the ramps and other equipment full of holes and rusty.

David Wilton, chairman of the New Waterford and District Community Centre, said funding for the new $240,000, state-of-the-art, skateboard park was secured except for $80,000 — and then he received word of an anonymous donor that allowed the project to go ahead.

“I don’t even know who it is myself,” he said. “They’re so adamant about being anonymous we’re probably going to get a bank draft so there’s no name on a check.”

Wilton said the park is likely at least 15 years old, with nuts and bolts pushing through the framework.

“It was a park design for a life span of 10-15 years and that’s what we got out of it.”

“It becomes almost a danger to the kids now, it’s not safe.”

Wilton said he’s been working on seeing a new park on the site for the past three years, starting back when he was member of the legislative assembly for Cape Breton Centre. Wilton said at the time Nova Scotia Premier Stephen Mcneil agreed to the project and usually when one level of government puts its chips in others will follow. Wilton said the Cape Breton Regional Municipality didn’t have the funding so agreed to do an “in-kind” donation of $50,000 by preparing the site.

Landon Parker, a Grade 6 student of BEC, was happy about the new park and surprised to hear of the generous donor.

“That’s crazy, “he said. “I’d like to say ‘thank you.’”

Dante Gillis, also a Grade 6 BEC student, was touched as well. The last six years he’s been using the park about three times a week.

“They must be pretty generous.” Ayden Mcphee, also a Grade 6 BEC student, also said it’s a generous gesture.

“Almost no one has $80,000 just laying around. That’s a lot to give to the kids of the skateboard park.”

SHARON MONTGOMERY-DUPE/SALTWIRE NETWORK New Waterford youth (from left) Landon Parker, Dante Gillis, Kadyn Kirkwood and Ayden Mcphee, all Grade 6 students at Breton Education Centre, are shown at the New Waterford, N.S., skateboard park. They were shocked to learn of a $80,000 mystery donation that makes a planned new $240,000 skateboard park possible.