Light in the dark!
Skate park kids get no love from the community around here. All the other parks have night lights, so people can enjoy playing sports at the park in the evening when the temperature goes down lower than 100F. But not for these kids. Summertime is deadly out here. They are practicing everyday in the extreme heat. People don't pay attention. As a matter of fact, they are often labeled as "bad kids."
My husband had a special love for these kids. He stood in front of the commissioners with other organizations who supported the skate park kids asking for the town to install lights at the skate park. We organized a festival, and competition to gain awareness of this movement.
As you can see in the pictures below, prior to the competition, kids wanted the park to look fresh! New paint, repair of dangerous chipped concrete areas, edges, etc... As a group, they voted on what colors they want to paint the skate park, they promoted the festival by selling merchandise, car washes, and by participating in the Fall Festival Parade. Now, do you really think these so called "bad kids" would do that? I think NOT! These kids still need their lights, Pahrump!
My husband and I wanted to help them. We organized a festival, promoted the festival, talked to Public Works to get their approval and support, talked to the commissioners for approval, Police Department, Fire Department, Local news, list goes on... Kids were there to support us as well. We got the approval from Public Works to paint the park the color they wanted. They even provided the paint and supplies for us. All of us got together and prepped the surface, and painted the park. There was graffiti on the walls before, but it got all cleaned up and ready for the competition! The skate park kids did it! They learned how to paint from a couple of local handymen who volunteered to help us.
What we wanted them to learn was a sense of ownership. Before they did not care if somebody tagged their park, but from that moment, they lived for the forever freshness. There was an incident before the competition that somebody vandalized their area. My husband got a phone call from one of the skate park kids at 11 o'clock at night. The kid was so furious that their park got tagged by somebody. They took turns to protect the park till the competition by camping out at night. That's how dedicated they were, and are.
One of the skaters in the picture has a skateboard stating "Skateboarding is not a crime." I agree. People need to stop being so prejudice. A few bad ones out there making everyone look bad! Look what they accomplished! They were with us the entire 5 months of preparation towards the event. The dedicated kids were visiting our house almost everyday after their practice, learning how to get approval by following the right chain of commands, how to promote events, how to make their own merchandise, how to talk in public, how to earn things that they want, how to fundraise... Life skills!
During the preparation time, we taught them how to design and print their own T shirts. Some kids that are really interested even learned how to silkscreen T shirts to earn income. Some of the kids in the pictures are wearing their own custom printed T shirts!
Some of the kids at the park are there to escape from their reality. They release their frustration by focusing on something that they enjoy doing. So for that moment, they are free from all the troubles that they have no control over. I don't skate, nor do anything they do. But spending time with them by watching them and talking to them, sometimes taking pictures or videotaping their new tricks, I had an opportunity to fully understand where they are coming from. They are good kids! They are not criminals. Our community needs to understand that they are devoting their time to what they like to do. If you give them a chance, they will show you how great they are. They are beautiful human beings just like everybody else, including you!
-Kozue Maye
Skate park kids get no love from the community around here. All the other parks have night lights, so people can enjoy playing sports at the park in the evening when the temperature goes down lower than 100F. But not for these kids. Summertime is deadly out here. They are practicing everyday in the extreme heat. People don't pay attention. As a matter of fact, they are often labeled as "bad kids."
My husband had a special love for these kids. He stood in front of the commissioners with other organizations who supported the skate park kids asking for the town to install lights at the skate park. We organized a festival, and competition to gain awareness of this movement.
As you can see in the pictures below, prior to the competition, kids wanted the park to look fresh! New paint, repair of dangerous chipped concrete areas, edges, etc... As a group, they voted on what colors they want to paint the skate park, they promoted the festival by selling merchandise, car washes, and by participating in the Fall Festival Parade. Now, do you really think these so called "bad kids" would do that? I think NOT! These kids still need their lights, Pahrump!
My husband and I wanted to help them. We organized a festival, promoted the festival, talked to Public Works to get their approval and support, talked to the commissioners for approval, Police Department, Fire Department, Local news, list goes on... Kids were there to support us as well. We got the approval from Public Works to paint the park the color they wanted. They even provided the paint and supplies for us. All of us got together and prepped the surface, and painted the park. There was graffiti on the walls before, but it got all cleaned up and ready for the competition! The skate park kids did it! They learned how to paint from a couple of local handymen who volunteered to help us.
What we wanted them to learn was a sense of ownership. Before they did not care if somebody tagged their park, but from that moment, they lived for the forever freshness. There was an incident before the competition that somebody vandalized their area. My husband got a phone call from one of the skate park kids at 11 o'clock at night. The kid was so furious that their park got tagged by somebody. They took turns to protect the park till the competition by camping out at night. That's how dedicated they were, and are.
One of the skaters in the picture has a skateboard stating "Skateboarding is not a crime." I agree. People need to stop being so prejudice. A few bad ones out there making everyone look bad! Look what they accomplished! They were with us the entire 5 months of preparation towards the event. The dedicated kids were visiting our house almost everyday after their practice, learning how to get approval by following the right chain of commands, how to promote events, how to make their own merchandise, how to talk in public, how to earn things that they want, how to fundraise... Life skills!
During the preparation time, we taught them how to design and print their own T shirts. Some kids that are really interested even learned how to silkscreen T shirts to earn income. Some of the kids in the pictures are wearing their own custom printed T shirts!
Some of the kids at the park are there to escape from their reality. They release their frustration by focusing on something that they enjoy doing. So for that moment, they are free from all the troubles that they have no control over. I don't skate, nor do anything they do. But spending time with them by watching them and talking to them, sometimes taking pictures or videotaping their new tricks, I had an opportunity to fully understand where they are coming from. They are good kids! They are not criminals. Our community needs to understand that they are devoting their time to what they like to do. If you give them a chance, they will show you how great they are. They are beautiful human beings just like everybody else, including you!
-Kozue Maye
Side note: When I saw the guy handing out flyers skating in front of the crowd, I thought, wow!! Why I didn't think of that!? Of course, I can't skate, but that is super efficient and effective way to hand out flyers to many people super fast! I would hire a crew of skaters on the parade route if I want my flyers to be handed out to everybody, FAST!!