TeenUp Award: Making Half-Pipe Dream Come True

Ridgefield, Conn. — Skateboarding is fun, but it’s also expensive. Buying the board, the helmet, the knee pads, the elbow pads, and other gear can put the sport out of reach for some young people who might benefit from the social activity and exercise that skateboarding offers.

So Mitchel Fields, a thirteen-year-old from Ridgefield, Conn., decided to do something to help broaden access to the sport. He contacted skateboard companies throughout the country, asking them to donate gear that he would present to the Graham Dickinson S.P.I.R.I.T. Skate Park in his home town.

The project was daunting at first. Fields was nervous about contacting corporate CEOs and asking for donations. He worked with his father to develop scripts, and he rehearsed each phone call. He found that the people he spoke with were pleasant and impressed by his concern for others.

And his efforts paid off. Three skateboard companies—Sector9, Bareback Skateboards, and Skate One—agreed to contribute hundreds of dollars’ worth of equipment. Fields gave the gear to the park during an event held there on June 21.

The Graham Dickinson S.P.I.R.I.T. Skate Park offers free admission to people who can’t afford to skate there, but the cost of equipment still kept some potential skaters away. Thanks to the initiative and effort of Mitchel Fields, anyone can borrow the gear while they are at the park.

For his generosity and enthusiasm in broadening access to a sport he loves, Fields is the winner of this week’s TeenUp Award.

The TeenUp Awards are directed by Michael Robert Evans, author of the young-adult novel 68 Knots. The TeenUp Award is given each week to an American teenager who has taken the initiative to make a positive difference in the world.

Information about the award is available at teenupawards.blogspot.com. The award is also announced each week in a YouTube video:

For more information, contact Michael Robert Evans, michaelrobertevans@yahoo.com