SKATE FOR JOY’S NAME HOLDS TRUE FOR INNER-CITY YOUTH
by MIMI WHETSTONE As more than 50 underserved children in
the Providence, R.I., area take the ice for their lessons, their focus is not on the scrutiny of a judging panel, how many points their elements are worth or how much longer they are required to practice. Instead, participants in the Skate for Joy program lace up their skates grateful for the opportunity to glide across the ice each week simply to experience the true joy of ice skating. “It is great to see the kids succeed, gaining
confi dence in their abilities even over just the fi rst hour,” said Liz DeMetro, Skate for Joy’s executive assistant. “I even had one brand-new skater say she wanted to live at the rink.” Skate for Joy targets low income families in
the Providence area, providing ice skating lessons to children who wouldn’t otherwise have the op- portunity due to fi nancial diffi culties. Now in its 11th year, the nonprofi t organization strives to inspire and engage underserved youth from all backgrounds in an after-school U.S. Figure Skat- ing Basic Skills Program. “T is season, one mother came to us after she had to pull her daughter out of dance class be- cause it had gotten too expensive,” DeMetro said. “Our program provides a fun, aff ordable oppor- tunity for those families. We provide 14 weeks of on-ice instruction along with skates, helmets, life skills speakers and healthy snacks. We also have an annual Skate with Santa party and an awards ban- quet at the end of each season.” Prohibited by the cost of ice time, skating in-
struction, equipment and transportation, inner- city children seldom have the opportunity to dis- cover the joy and important life skills the sport has to off er including perseverance, confi dence, teamwork and a sense of achievement. Skate for Joy fi lls the gap between outdoor fall and spring after-school sports/activities, pro- viding no- or low-cost Basic Skills instruction as
a weekly Learn to Skate Program each December to March. “We have been working all summer to ex-
pand our program, hoping to off er more services and serve more kids,” DeMetro said. “We also have two new staff members this year. I am the executive assistant and Karen Short is our on-ice coordinator. Last week we got all of the kids onto the ice, and for most of them, it was their fi rst time ever.” In addition to staff expansion, Skate for Joy has added basic hockey skating lessons to their
On-Ice Coordinator Karen Short poses on the ice with local mascots and Skate for Joy skaters.
program this season. Funded only by grants and donations, Skate
for Joy operates thanks to the ongoing generosity of the City of Providence Department of Parks and Recreation. T e organization also partners
Providence Mayor Angel Taveras awards a Skate for Joy participant a medal of participation.
Skate for Joy athletes pose with Founder and Executive Director Carolyn Drumm at last year’s annual awards banquet.
with several schools and community service or- ganizations throughout the city, including Paul Cuff ee School and South Providence Neighbor- hood Ministries. “T e smiles that arise on the faces of stu- dents when they talk about the program give me the fi rst hint that Skate for Joy is succeeding,” Michael C. Obel-Omia, Head of Paul Cuff ee School said. “T e laughter that fi lls downtown Providence’s skating rink as they glide along the sheet of ice affi rms that Skate for Joy is exceeding its goals.” For more information or to make a