SKATE DSM RECEIVED GRANT FROM VARIETY – THE CHILDREN’S CHARITY

Grant helped fund the Get on Board Project

Des Moines, Iowa – Skate DSM has received a grant from Variety – the Children’s Charity to help fund the Get on Board Project to provide skateboards and helmets to kids in the Des Moines area.

Skate DSM is a volunteer-led 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to growing and supporting the skateboarding community in Des Moines. Skateboarding is a unique activity because it combines extreme physical exertion with precise muscle coordination and balance. It’s a great activity for kids’ physical and mental health. Skateboarding also encourages kids to interact with one another and builds vital social and interpersonal skills. In addition to the Get on Board Project, Skate DSM hosts Push Start clinics introducing kids to skateboarding, skate camps, lessons, after school programs and events like the Des Moines Streetstyle Open throughout the metro to keep the community stoked on skateboarding.

The Variety grant was used to literally get more kids on skateboards. To date, Skate DSM has given out over 1100 skateboards and helmets to kids in the Des Moines metro, a retail value of $154,000. This grant has helped us provide equipment to nearly 300 kids in 2024 as well as basic instruction to teach kids the fundamentals of skateboarding and how to do it safely. To participate in the Get on Board Project, eligible students, those enrolled in grades K-8 in Polk, Dallas, and Warren counties, can apply online at SkateDSM.org/GetOnBoard, or take part in one of our after-school programs.

“We built the greatest skatepark in the world, now we want to do everything we can to ensure local kids have the tools they need to skate it,” said Norm Sterzenbach, president of Skate DSM. “The ‘Get on Board Project’ is the first of its kind and further puts Iowa front and center on the national skateboarding map.”