Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Skating rinks to assist local organizations
Community Rescue Mission, Boys & Girls Club to benefit
FORT SMITH — Two ice skating rinks are preparing to glide into Fort Smith and Van Buren to benefit local organizations over the holidays.
The Fort Smith Ice Rink is located at 100 N. B St. and benefits the Community Rescue Mission. The rink opens Friday and will be open to Jan. 1. Opening day hours are 2-6 p.m.
Regular rink hours are 4-7 p.m. on Friday, 1-8 p.m. Saturday and 2-5 p.m. on Sunday. Starting Dec. 27, it will also be open Tuesday through Thursday from 1-8 p.m.
Holiday hours are 1-8 p.m. Dec. 22 and 23 and 1-4 p.m. on Christmas Eve, and the rink will be closed Christmas Day.
Tickets are $10 per hour for adults and children older than 12, and $5 per hour for children younger than 12. The prices include the cost for renting skates.
According to its website, the Community Rescue Mission has operated since 1981 and is a nonprofit, faithbased organization providing safe shelter, meals and needed support to help people get back on their feet as quickly as possible.
Executive Director Heather Sanders said this is the rink’s third year of operation. She said it typically sees roughly 3,500 people and raises about $10,000 to $15,000 for the organization.
“Those proceeds go directly back to serving families in our community,” she said.
“We currently house 14 families at any one time. They live here for about four to six months on average. There are no fees to the families while they are here, and we provide for all of their basic needs to help and empower them from crisis to independence.”
Sanders said the rink is about 40 by 70 feet and can hold roughly 75 people. She said Community Rescue Mission is still looking for nonprofit groups and organizations to come out and hand out things such as hot cocoa. Organizations can also sponsor groups such as the Boys & Girls Club to come ice skate.
Sanders said more information can be found at fortsmithiceskating.com or by contacting Community Rescue Mission at (479) 7821443 or info@fscrm.org.
“I think it’s all about bringing the community together to be here, to support one another,” Sanders said.
“The holidays are obviously an important time of year. A lot of kiddos are also out of school, so we’re trying to have different, fun events so that we can provide some exciting and new opportunities during the holidays. And I think we all work together for the better of our community, which is the foundation for the holidays.”
The other ice skating rink is in Van Buren at the East Parking lot of Freedom Park, 957 E. Main St., and benefits the Boys & Girls Club of Van Buren.
According to the Visit Van Buren website, its ice skating rink will be open from Dec. 1 to Dec. 30 and is sponsored by Generations Bank and will be open Friday from 5:30-10 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. and Sunday from 1-5 p.m. from Dec. 1 through Dec. 30. It will be closed Dec. 24, and times for Dec. 22 and 23 are still to be decided. Costs are $5 per person, including a skate rental.
Boys & Girls Clubs of America is a national organization of local chapters providing after-school programs for students.
Cindy Faldon, the executive director of the Boys & Girls Club of Van Buren, said this is the second year the ice rink will benefit the organization. She said last year raised $5,000 for meals, Christmas presents and other needs for area families.
“The holidays for not-forprofits are an expensive time of year,” she said.
“To help families with meal preparation — that’s probably the most important thing. The dollars that are going to be spent on basic food items this year, because the price of food has gone up so much.”