Sports

Washington School Student Raises Money to Save Chatham Skate Park

Third grader Matthew Stokes donated $50 towards fundraising efforts of the Chatham Skate Park Committee.


The following information was provided by Mimi Mehta.

Eight-year old Matthew Stokes, a third grader at the Washington School in Summit, loves to go skateboarding.  He has been skating for four years and his favorite place to skate is nearby Chatham Skate Park in Chatham, NJ.  The park is the only skate park open to the public located near him.

When Matthew found out that the park had been shut down at the end of last summer because it had been deemed unsafe by the insurance provider, he was very disappointed.  He was even more disappointed to learn that the skate park might be permanently closed. After learning about the Chatham Skate Park Committee’s desire to save the park, he had his parents sign their online petition and expressed his interest in doing what was necessary to re-open the park.

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Matthew was really missing the skate park.   However, thanks to collaboration between the Chatham Skate Park Committee and the Chatham Township Committee, Chatham’s Public Works department repaired the ramps and Chatham reopened the skate park in February.  He knew that there was more work to be done to bring the park back to peak condition, and volunteered to help the Chatham Skate Park Committee raise funds for a new durable acrylic sealcoating designed just for skate wheels to replace the 10-year old worn asphalt. 

Matthew approached his school, the Washington School, and was given permission to put a collection jar in the school’s office.  He spread the word to his classmates, friends, and family.  Last week, Matthew contributed the $50 he collected to the fundraising efforts of the Chatham Skate Park Committee.  Matthew hopes that enough funds are raised for the new sealcoating so that he and others can enjoy the park for years to come.

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If you would like to help, you can make a tax-deductible donation by sending a check payable to “Township of Chatham” with “Skate Park” written in the memo line to:  Chatham Skate Park Committee, 58 Meyersville Road, Chatham, NJ 07928.  To learn more, visit the Skate Park Committee’s website at www.chathamskateparknj.org or its Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/SaveChathamSkatePark.

 


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