{"id":478448,"date":"2025-12-29T20:40:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T20:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/478448\/"},"modified":"2025-12-29T20:40:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T20:40:11","slug":"phoenix-skate-shop-needs-publics-help-to-give-boards-to-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/478448\/","title":{"rendered":"Phoenix skate shop needs public’s help to give boards to kids"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tCowtown has given thousands of skateboards away to kids and teens.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Courtesy of Cowtown Skateboards<\/p>\n

When Kat Betsy became executive director of Cowtown S.K.A.T.E. in August, she was just beginning to understand what it meant to truly be a Skateboard Angel.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c(When you make) a $60 donation (to Skateboard Angel it) means a complete professional-grade skateboard for an underserved kid and that really opens the door for them in a variety of ways: all of the physical health benefits that come with skating, the social\/emotional learning that\u2019s tied to it, as well as learning about persistence and becoming more resilient people,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n

For much of the last decade, Skateboard Angel, part of the philanthropic arm of local skateboarding purveyors Cowtown Skateboards, has been providing skateboards to Valley \u2014 and now national \u2014 youth thanks to donations from individuals and local partners. In 2024, for example, the organization was able to donate just under 1,800 ready-to-ride skateboards to children in Arizona and nationwide. The goal for 2025 is 2,000 boards.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Kat Betsy is the executive director of Cowtown S.K.A.T.E.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoenix, make your New Year\u2019s Resolution Count!\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWe\u2019re $13,000 away from our End-of-Year campaign goal, with just a few days left! We\u2019re ready to deliver \u2014 but we need the resources to do it right. If New Times matters to you, please contribute today to help us expand our current events coverage when it\u2019s needed most.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

According to Betsy, though, Skateboard Angel is only about halfway to their goal with only a few days left before the end of the year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, we\u2019re at 982 (totals were at 1,015 at the time of this writing), so we are slowly but surely approaching that goal. This will really allow us to lock in being able to support all of the initiatives we have going into next year,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

These initiatives include reaching more students by bringing on additional staff and providing more skateboards to more children.<\/p>\n

Betsy is passionate about the benefits of skateboarding for the children her organization serves.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c(Skateboarding) helps the emotional health of children, as well as making friends. Everything within the social scene of it, when you really look beneath the surface a little bit there\u2019s a lot of benefits to what a board can do for a kid,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

For those interested in becoming a Skateboard Angel themselves, there are several options for helping put a skateboard in the hands of a child who may otherwise not be able to ride the concrete waves. Check out their website Cowtown\u2019s website <\/a>and Instagram profile<\/a>. You can also visit local locations of Cowtown Skateboards, as well as a variety of partner sites like Cartel Coffee on Ash Avenue in Tempe and Bad Jimmy\u2019s on Seventh Street in Phoenix.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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