Pinch of Salt: ASK Foundation, Donelon Skatepark Legacy continues to grow in Long Beach
I was working at my home office earlier this week and looked up to see a skateboard deck, signed with a bunch of names. Tony Hawk was one, but the names that mattered were the kids.
A guy named Mike Donelon – and his crew of skaters – gave me that deck a couple decades ago. It was symbolic of the work we had done together to create skateparks in Long Beach.
Actually, I had done very little work – a few stories here and there, some advocacy while I was serving on the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission. Donelon carried the load, primarily by convincing a group of young skateboarders to advocate for themselves. It was something to see.
The rebuild of the Silverado Park Skatepark, done completely with private funds (okay, there was one $5,000 grant from the Port of Long Beach, but no city money at all), is what has prompted this little nostalgia trip. Donelon and his youth army called the ASK Foundation (Action Sports Kids Foundation) decided the street/plaza park needed a rebuild, designed it and did all the fundraising.
It should be noted that they had created the first Silverado Park park from discarded equipment and obstacles from other parks. The city was a cheerleader, but not much more.
So let me take you back. Nearly 30 years back.
Donelon was on the City Council, representing the Seventh District. He was a bit of an anomaly – not a politician type. He had squeaked into the seat in 1994 by just a few votes and made representing the common guy a big deal.
One of the issues of the day was those hooligan teenagers skateboarding on public property, taking over steps, bus benches, sidewalks – pretty much anything where they could try stunts. It was portrayed as a juvenile delinquent thing, and upstanding citizens wanted it stopped. (I did mention it was 30 years ago, didn’t I?)
Donelon had a different opinion. He noted that kids concentrating on skateboarding typically weren’t joining criminal gangs, or getting in trouble for more than skateboarding. READ FULL ARTICLE - https://www.presstelegram.com/2024/01/25/pinch-of-salt-ask-foundation-donelon-skatepark-legacy-continues-to-grow-in-long-beach/