Detroit's doin it.

Detroit Project

A friend of mine pointed this out to me.  This is a pretty awesome project going on in the Inner City of Detroit.  Check out the link.  I have become frustrated with the city of Indianapolis recently and have hit a brick wall.  If anyone out there reads this and knows who the person to talk to at Indy parks or the city about building skateboarding infrastructure PLEASE let me know.  You can email me at timdevlin24@gmail.com.

Indy skate advocates in the paper

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011110270314

There was recently an article in the Indianapolis Star.   The writer Amanda Kingsbury was trying to find some educators that are doing interesting things.  She had heard about our group and wanted to get the story out.  Hopefully this helps our cause.

Recent updates

Sarah and Jordan are having a baby! Congrats to the new family.  They were the ones with the idea to start this now as they have more on their plate a few of us have stepped up and are trying to take the reigns.  Evan and myself met a few weeks ago and started making some emails and phone calls.  Hopefully we will be able to put some wind back in our sails.

The money we have raised is now in an account.  WE RAISED $1200 in a short amount of time.  Hopefully we can get someone from the city on our side and make something happen.  Stay tuned.

TRASH AT THE PARK!!

Also upon my return I noticed a TON of trash at the park. I picked up a ton of trash the day before I left and there was all new trash today. The guys were there cutting the lawn and they were taking pictures of the trash in the lawn. This can't be good publicity for the park or more parks to come. If you see someone leaving there trash get on them. I know it feels silly but it is going to suck when we can't get a new park because the litter problem is looming. It will REALLY suck if they take our park away that we have now!

Recent travels

AHHH. The motivation that follows a trip to Oregon. They have it so together there. If you would like to check out what they have going on you can check out this website.

http://skateportland.org/

Every time I go there there is something awesome happening. The latest addition is a park known as Brooklyn Street. It started as a small DIY spot and then turned into a real park. Not only did the city decide it could be a park they funded a small amount to the builders of the park to improve it as well. This doesn't just happen for anything they have worked long and hard to achieve this credibility and for the city to see the benefits of skateparks. Pictures of the park are below. They are removing the walking bridge soon and the city has given the entire area all the way to the building to the builders!

Great meeting

We had a great meeting on the 20th. Thanks to everyone that is helping us. Remember if you haven't seen it on facebook we have an event this coming Thursday the 28th at Talbott St. There will be some awesome bands playing and all the proceeds go to ISA. Also, we will be selling some awesome photos from Hutch, a tattoo!, a bike tune up from ISC, and many other things. Come check it out!

phew. We hope.

Wow, what a relief. Gage and I attended the meeting today and the overall feeling both of us had was very positive. The parks department was very concerned about losing the skateboard park and was assured by the reps from Marion that it will be safe.

Gage and I spoke with the Dean Peterson and Deborah Lawrence after the meeting and they were very happy to meet us and look forward to opportunities to collaborate with events. Their number one concern is the community and they are using the recent rise in cycling popularity to our advantage.

During our conversation there was even mention of the long forgotten park addition that was in the original plan. There main goal is to revamp all of the infrastructure, build some bike courses, and actually generate revenue through cycling events and summer programs. Lets keep our fingers crossed and keep pushing for new stuff!

meeting update

: I guess the indyparks thing is on the agenda. This is not a rally of sorts. It would just really be cool if we had some representation from the skateboard community there. We might not even get to talk. But at least we will be there.

UPDATE PLEASE READ!!!!

The meeting was just confirmed today. Lets pack this house!!!

The meeting is on Thursday 4/7 from 345 to 5 pm in the city council building. It will be in room 260.

MEETING!! TRY TO COME!!

I know it is last minute. We should try and get as many people here as possible. Even if it doesn't happen, I think it would be a good idea to show up.

There will be a meeting held on friday 4/8/11 by the Parks Board at the City County Building (room 260 4 or5pm). I do not have the exact time, and cant find any info about it on the web. There is supposed to be some type of announcement in terms of who will be aquiring the property that the skatepark resides on. I dont think they will be counting on the public attending. I think it would serve our cause best to have as many parents, business owners, and people who care about the future of the skatepark to be in attendance. Please repost this and tell everyone you know. It's time to stand up and get involved. Any further info I can get before hand will be posted ASAP.

BLOWIN UP!

While I was sending out emails for one of our benefits someone at Metromix heard about our group. They asked me if I would be their Local celebrity of week. I gladly accepted for a chance to get our vision out there. You can find the article here.

http://indianapolis.metromix.com/home/article/local-celebrity-tim-devlin/2532778/content

Local celebrity: Tim Devlin

Jabril Riguad

Special to Metromix
March 29, 2011

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(Credit: Michelle Pemberton / Metromix)

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Claim to fame: Co-founder, Indianapolis Skate Park Advocates; technology education teacher, Lynhurst 7th & 8th Grade Center.

If you had 30 seconds to pitch the ISPA cause to the City Council/mayor, what would you say?
I personally know kids around the city who are being pressured with serious choices, be it gangs or violence and drug use. I grew up around skate parks, and it has done great things for my life. I would love for these kids to have the same chance to receive the mentorship that older skateboarders can give.

What’s your main project right now?
We’re working with the King Park neighborhood to get a skate park put in at 25th and the Monon. We are also pursuing turning our group into a nonprofit so we will be able to accept donations and grants.

Why did you make this your personal cause?
I’ve had had an interest in skateboarding since the fifth grade. Even then, I would write the mayor letters, begging him to build a skate park in Carmel. I wish I still had some of those letters.

Before becoming a teacher what was your dream?
To be a bum, I guess? Just make enough money to skateboard all the time, and just live in a small house with little bills. But a couple things happened that changed all that.

What were those things?
During that part of my life, I was living out of my van. I met a lot of younger kids at skate parks who hated school. I started asking myself why I liked (school) and then I remembered all the teachers that really influenced me.

My mom also got on me and was like, “Why are you going to waste the talents that you have? How are you not going to give back anything that was given to you?” This hit pretty hard.

What’s your favorite place to skate locally? Ultimate dream spot?
Locally, the park at Major Taylor. My dream place would be an empty pool on a spring afternoon in Arizona.

Do you skate with protective gear?
I would if it was cool, as bad as it sounds. I would, but it’s not. So I just make excuses not to?

If you were going to jail for life tomorrow, what’s the last meal you’d eat in this town and why?
For sure, the Taco and Burrito Place at 42nd Street and Millersville Road. Pablo would definitely hook it up — best burritos in town.

Indianapolis: Love it or leave it?
Love it. I’ve tried to move to other places, and I always end up here. I can’t really put it into words.

Indianapolis Skate Park Advocates
ISPA will host a fundraiser April 28 at Talbott Street, featuring bands and raffles.

aHHHH

I have been super busy lately and skateboarding in this weather has been HORRIBLE! We had a meeting last week and it was awesome. We are making some good moves and things are coming together as our group finds their roles. We are now meeting once a month. Our next event sounds awesome! We are going to have a raffle so if anyone would like to donate let us know. email me tdevlin@umail.iu.edu.

So I am going through my first year of teaching at Lynhurst 7th and 8th grade center. Some students wrote these letters a while ago. I promised them I would post them up online. Sorry Jake and Nigel for taking so long. Jake is a bmx rider and Nigel is from a family of skateboarders. All of them are dreaming of new skateparks. Read their letters yourself!

AWESOME EVENT!

Oursecond fundraising event went off amazingly. All the bands ripped, everyone at the Vollrath were great hosts, and the crowd was amazing. Thanks to everyone that came out and a special thanks to Evan for organizing the event and the bands. We have a small start money wise which is awesome that we have any. The biggest thing we can ask from everyone is your support. Please add us on facebook!! Indy skatepark advocates

Here are some pictures from the event taken by Samantha Fox...

JAN 15TH VOLLRATH!

We are doing another fundraising event for the new skatepark. Evan has again organized a bunch of awesome bands, art, and other things to come together for a great night!

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

We have a START! We raised some money on Friday night! Thanks for everyone that showed up we had a great turn out and thanks so much to EVAN for putting it all together.

Indy Skatepark Advocates would like to give thanks to all those who came to the show to support our efforts last night. It was a big success!

Special thanks to:
Vacation Club
Stealing Volume
Skyhunter
Lonerdottie
Bloodbank
Earth House
Geoff Wilson
Marcus Krug
Andrew Hutchinson
Tim Devlin & Sam
...and all our ultra cool volunteers

Super Duper Special thanks to:

Evan! Thanks for putting this all together

Except great things in the future...

--
Indy Skatepark Advocates

IMPORTANT!

We're moving. Please remove yourself from the Indy Skatepark Advocates group on facebook and join us at our new home:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Indy-Skatepark-Advocates/156945721013718?v=info

We will be deleting this group at the end of the month. Sorry for any inconveniences. We appreciate your support.

Fundraising!

It's that time! We're starting to collect money and get things started. Really started!

Please support our efforts and have a great time while doing it.

HOW? Come to Earth House on November 5, 2010.

WHAT? 5 Awesome bands, some really cool artists, and lots of support to make our future skatepark happen.

COST: $5--every cent goes to Indy Skatepark Advocates

WHERE? 237 N East St Downtown Indy

WHO? Everyone you know (it's all ages)

WHEN? November 5 7pm-11pm

See you there!

If you have some really cool pictures of you or anyone at a local Indianapolis skatepark please send them our way. We are compiling them for a slide show for the evening's events!

You can help out: Print the flyers and distribute them everywhere! (and come to the show)

Flyers

Meeting

For anyone that is interested we will be having a meeting this Thursday Evening at Barley Island in Broadripple. We will be meeting at 6pm. On the agenda will be design, skatepark grant, Non-profit, etc. If you know anything about grant writing, if you are a resourceful person, and you have time on your hands, come out and support us. Thanks!

scion skate jam 2

It's good to see so many people out enjoying our parks. Its too bad there aren't more around the area. Thanks for everyone that came out! More photos in her facebook album

Scion Skate Jam

So rumor had it the park was closing. We received work from IndyParks this is not true. Everyone can breathe easy for now. The other weekend Tom Wood Scion hosted a contest at Major Taylor. It was an awesome day and lots of people came out to show their support. My girlfriend was awesome and shot a bunch of photos from the day. Here they are:

Tom Wood Scion Skate Jam

This saturday from 11-4 at Major Taylor. Should be fun come out and support the Skate scene.

Supposedly the park is closing in October...

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tom-Wood-Scion-Skate-Jam/140204580970?ref=ts

Check out their facebook.

See you there!

NEVER FEAR WE ARE STILL HERE!

So it has been a while. Just wanted to let anyone know that follows this that YES we are still around. A lot of people have been on vacation for the summer and the heat just bogs some of us down. We finally met tonight and made a to-do list.

1.) We are currently seeking a NON-PROFIT organization that we can accept donations to.

2.) Coming up with a rough design to show indy parks

3.) Researching Non-profit organization start ups

4.) Contacting park builders

5.) Organizing to write a proposal.

If you would like to help or have any insight into this please email me (tdevlin@umail.iu.edu) or the advocates (indyskateparkadvocates@gmail.com). Or check out the facebook page search Indy skatepark advocates.

Thanks. We will keep you posted.