Tony Hawk's Proving Ground Stand Up For Skateparks Raises Over $1-Million at Fourth Annual Star-Studded Benefit - Los Angeles, CA - The Tony Hawk Foundation held its fourth-annual Tony Hawk's Proving Ground Stand
Tony Hawk's Proving Ground Stand Up For Skateparks Raises Over $1-Million at Fourth Annual Star-Studded Benefit
Los Angeles, CA - The Tony Hawk Foundation held its fourth-annual Tony Hawk's Proving Ground Stand Up For Skateparks benefit Sunday, October 7, 2007 at the Green Acres estate in Beverly Hills. With 1,000 guests in attendance, the Foundation raised over $1-million to further its mission of bringing free, quality public skateparks to low-income communities across the U.S.
Celebrities and athletes in attendance included Sean "Diddy" Combs, Lance Armstrong, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jon Favreau, Leeza Gibbons, David Spade, Ed Helms, Russell Simmons, Michael Rapaport, Holly Robinson Peete, Kathy Ireland, Stefan Lessard, Trent Reznor, Arsenio Hall, Chris "Big Black" Boykin, Chuck Liddell, and Rashad Evans.
At a noon press conference with Tony Hawk, Lance Armstrong, Shaun White, Jamie Lee Curtis, Leeza Gibbons, Jon Favreau, Kevin Robinson, Mat Hoffman, and Bob Burnquist, the group outlined the Foundation's mission to help finance and provide guidance in the development of free public skateparks in low-income areas across the United States, and each athlete and co-chair gave a personal statement about why the foundation's work is meaningful to them. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," said event co-chair Lance Armstrong. "And what Tony's Foundation is doing is helping to build places for these under-served kids to exercise, be healthy, and have fun."
The Foundation has awarded $1.7-million in skatepark grants since its inception in 2002.
Fourteen youths from the city of Compton joined Tony Hawk on stage for a pledge drive to support a skatepark in their community. The pledge drive raised over $60,000 for the proposed landmark Compton skatepark, which promises to be a destination park for not only local youth, but for skaters throughout the region.
"This was our most successful event by far," said Tony Hawk. "Between the energy levels, the smiling faces, the unmatched vert talent, the great music, the caliber of celebrities, and the record fundraising, we can't believe how far we've come in four short years of events. My favorite part was the pledge drive for the Compton skatepark project--thousands of dollars raised in minutes. We will make sure that park is a reality as soon as possible."
The benefit featured a vert skateboarding and BMX demonstration by Tony Hawk, Shaun White, Andy Macdonald, Bob Burnquist, Jean Postec, Kevin Robinson, and Mat Hoffman, carnival games and activities, and live music by Me First And The Gimme Gimmes. A live auction featured a 2008 "Hawkized" Black DUB Edition Jeep 4-Door Wrangler, along with autographed skateboards, and the opportunity to be a character in next year's Tony Hawk's skateboarding game by Activision. This is the fourth year that Activision has supported the event as its title sponsor. Premier sponsors included UFC, Dynacraft, Quiksilver, and Jeep. Tony Hawk's Proving Ground Stand Up For Skateparks was also supported by Six Flags, X Games, Tech Deck, Adio, DUB, and the Wasserman Foundation
About Tony Hawk Foundation
A charitable, non-profit organization, the Tony Hawk Foundation was established in 2002 by its namesake, professional skateboarder Tony Hawk, to promote and provide funds for high-quality public skateparks throughout the United StatesÑwith an emphasis on the word "quality." Since then, the Foundation has awarded $1,712,334 to 336 communities. The Foundation focuses on working with local officials and grassroots, community-based organizations that plan to hire designers and contractors with strong experience designing and building skateparks.
The Tony Hawk Foundation was established by a gift from Tony Hawk. Its directors raise additional funds through events, industry donations, and continuing contributions from Tony and other entities. In addition to skateparks, the Foundation also makes donations to other children-related charities, as chosen by its Board Of Directors. For more information or to make a donation, access the Foundation's Web site at Tonyhawkfoundation.org.
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