Skatepark Receives Local Support
Skatepark Receives Local Support
Ski season themed fundraisers carry over into spring
Pictured left to right: Front row - Nick Pitillo (Villaggio), Taylor Perks (SK8EVL youth ambassador). Back row - Bryan Geehrer (Holiday Valley), Mason Perks (SK8EVL advocate), Spencer Timkey (The Boardroom), Gene Baritot (Holiday Valley), Jake Swan (Holiday Valley), Aiden Harrington (SK8EVL advocate).
The proposed Ellicottville Skatepark is on the fast track to becoming a reality, thanks to the continued support of our local businesses. The tail end of ski season heading into spring has proven successful in fundraising efforts, with advocates and business teams raising close to $6,500 to apply towards the construction of a permanent, concrete skatepark to be located in Ellicottville’s Village Park. Best of all, the “Built to Play” matching grant program awarded by The Skatepark Project and funded through the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation will double every dollar raised (up to $250k).
SK8EVL, the advocate group spearheading the Ellicottville project, stayed busy through winter, selling tickets to raffle off a Holiday Valley combo pass for next season, a $200 gift card to Mud, Sweat n’ Gears, and a limited edition signed poster of Tony Hawk. Ticket sales culminated with the drawing held live on IG April 1st, raising a total of $3,700.
HoliMont’s Racing Program took advantage of the lingering spring snow to host their 2nd annual Parallel Proceeds of Spring race, on the very last day of the 2020-21 ski season. The event invited athletes from surrounding clubs for a day of friendly competition, with HoliMont choosing the Ellicottville Skatepark as recipient of this year’s proceeds. The April 11th race brought in $1,500.
And just when you think ski season is over … enter Villaggio. Owner Nick Pitillo presented 'Lords of Snow’, aka The Snowmakers’ Ball, on April 29th - a special celebration that gives praise to our local heroes of snow. Many businesses donated items which were included in gift bags and given to Ellicottville’s essential snow gods and goddesses. Area restaurants pitched in and served up some of their signature dishes. And others came forward with some special prizes to include in a last-minute skatepark fundraiser.
“This is a night to celebrate our friends who make it snow, and to thank the invaluable mountain maintenance crews and hardworking operations staffs from both Holiday Valley and HoliMont,” said Pitillo. “It’s our chance to show some love to the hard working people at our ski resorts and say thanks for all that they do! On top of all that, we decided to take this opportunity to give back to another really cool thing as well - the Ellicottville Skatepark. Dan Aldrich donated a couple of his beautiful aerial photos on canvas, and The Boardroom, HoliMont and EBC stepped up to the plate with more cool stuff. We decided to raffle these items off at the Snowmakers’ Ball; we were able to bring in $1,275 for the skatepark.”
Ellicottville knows how to throw a party, and our community is one that certainly knows how to come together to support it all. On behalf of SK8EVL, a huge thank you to everyone who sees the value in bringing a skatepark to our community and for taking initiative to help us get closer to our goal. To date, $130,000 has been raised towards the project’s $250,000 match.
SK8EVL has until November 30th of this year to raise as much as possible for the match. A fund for the Ellicottville Skatepark has been established at the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation (CRCF). Tax deductible donations can be sent anytime to CRCF (memo: Ellicottville Skatepark), 301 North Union St., Suite 203, Olean, NY 14760 or you can donate directly online at cattfoundation.org. Learn more about the Ellicottville Skatepark at sk8evl.com.
