Skateboarding big wheel helps move project forward
Tony Hawk’s foundation donates $10,000
LEOMINSTER » Fundraising efforts for the Frankie Fortuna Memorial Skatepark on Johnson Street got a huge boost this week when The Skatepark Project, skateboarding star Tony Hawk’s foundation, made a $10,000 donation towards the effort to build a new park.
“The Tony Hawk donation has really brought the publicity and the spotlight to people who may not have known what we are doing and attention to that,” said Haily Brady, a member of the Frankie Fortuna Memorial Skatepark Committee, which was formed by the Leominster Recreation Department earlier this year to oversee the park project. “It is really great to see, and it definitely helps with the credibility of the project.”
Fortuna was just 19 years old when he was struck by a hit and run driver and died on Nov. 18, 2015. A devoted skateboarder, Fortuna could often be found at the skatepark on Johnson Street. Following his death, his family decided to raise funds to restore the skatepark in his memory.
Brady grew up with Fortuna and said her brother was his best friend. She said she got close to Frankie’s parents, Jerry and Marie Fortuna, after he died.
“When I saw Marie at the beginning of this year, she was talking about how they had only raised $20,000 over the last five years,” Brady said.
Brady was inspired to contact the city to see if there were funds and
grants available. She said that’s when Recreation Director Judith Sumner and city grant administrator Wendy Wiiks got involved and “things really started to take off.”
Committee co-chair Steven Snay said they are “at just about” $400,000 in approved funding towards the $500,000 goal for the park through monetary donations from individuals and businesses, in kind donations, a $248,000 in PARC grant funds available July 1, $19,000 that the city has committed to the project, and now The Skatepark Project donation.
“I think we are going to get there,” Snay said, adding that the GoFundMe set up for park fundraising has received $2,500 in donations just in the last two days.
“With companies like Matthew S. Marro Consulting providing over $15,000 in complementary surveying, engineering services, and Lowe’s providing some rebar for the project, all these in-kind donations cut down on our expenses and result in a better park for the community with the allocated funds,” Snay said. “We hope to have other companies and organizations offer discounted or free forming lumber and yardage of concrete.
Marie Fortuna said they could not be more grateful for the high-profile donation, the story of which has
been shared by many news outlets locally and around the world including the BBC.
“It brought everything back to life again that we have been trying to do,” she said.” We were going along and getting it done but this really showcases it for us and made a huge difference. It will hopefully bring us the money we need to make this park beautiful for everybody.”
Snay said they are hoping to have the park ready to go this fall, and that they are looking forward to seeing people of all ages enjoy it for skating, boarding, biking, and scooting, essentially all wheeled, nonmotorized activities.
He said he and Sumner went over the application for a donation from The Skatepark Project together, which included 90 questions about demographics and why the city wants the park.
“It really puts in perspective what we have been saying from the beginning,” Snay said of the foundation donation. “Our emphasis of having kids engaged and the older population recognizing what this means to the youngsters in the city. It means a lot to have Tony Hawk’s organization standing behind our project.”
Brady said they had tried for The Skatepark Project donation for a
while.
“There were some speed bumps,” she said. “It was nice to see that it finally went through.”
Brady said that as of now they have enough to build the skatepark with the current design.
“If we can get to $500,000 it opens us up to the next level of design and features,” she said. “We have the space to do it so it would be great if we can get to that point.”
An auction fundraiser for the skatepark is currently taking place, one that Brady organized along with Maria Fortuna that runs through April 30. As of now they have 10 custom, one-of-a-kind, hand
crafted skateboard decks to auction off with proceeds benefiting the park.
“The more money we are able to raise, the better the park we will be able to build for the local community,” Brady said. “The boards being auctioned off were done by some of the best and most talented artists Massachusetts has to offer.”
Brady, who said she got the idea for the auction a few months ago, said different local artists, including tattoo artists, a local clothing brand, and more, designed the decks.
“I tried finding people that have ties to the local community,” she said. “All the decks are hand done.”
To bid on the decks visit https://www. charityauctionstoday.com/auctions/ deck- ar t- for- frankie- spark-19589
Donations for the Frankie Fortuna Memorial Skate Park can be made through the “Recreation” tab on the City of Leominster’s webpage, http:// www. leominster- ma. gov, or through the Fortuna family’s GoFundMe page, https ://go-fund.me/25fbe717.
Tax deductible donations can be made to out Leominster Recreation Department and mailed to Leominster Recreation Department, Skatepark and Pump Track Fund, 25 West St., Leominster, MA, 01453.
To bid on a skateboard deck visit https:// bit.ly/2OSDEEe.
For more information visit https://frankiefortunaskatepark.com.