There is a new non-profit in Henderson, Kentucky aimed at making skateboarding accessible to everyone and it's pretty rad!

Meet Gift

Gift Skateboarding is a non-profit in Henderson, Kentucky that is focused on making the sport of skateboarding available to anyone and everyone regardless of age, gender, or economic status. According to their Facebook page,

Gift Skateboarding is a non-profit organization committed to providing safe and accessible community spaces and programs centered around skateboarding.

 

Free Skateboarding

Gift will host Henderson's only totally free indoor skatepark where skaters can borrow loner boards and protective gear if they don't have their own, all while skating and grinding in a safe environment. They will even offer free lessons regularly with some of the city's most experienced skaters.

I've never met a skateboarder whose path in life wasn't directly influenced, in a positive way, by the lessons they learned from skating. - Matt Glick, Executive Director of Gift Skateboarding
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Her Sessions

Because Gift wants to make sure that everyone feels safe and included in the sport of skateboarding, they offer an all-girls skateboarding session once a month that they call "Her Session." According to a Facebook post, the first Her Session will take place at Gift Skateboarding on January 19th from 4 pm to 8 pm. You do not have to register in advance and there is no cost to attend the Her Session.

We don’t ever want anyone to feel excluded from skateboarding. With this in mind, we will be hosting HER SESSION once per month. This will be a block of time where only girls and women are allowed to skate in the park. This is an effort to make girls and women feel more comfortable among their boy counterparts. Over time, we hope those that attend these periodic sessions will feel comfortable enough to frequent the park at any other time.

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Why Skateboarding

When asked "Why skateboarding?" Gift Executive Director, Matt Glick tells us,

There are a multitude of reasons to support skateboarding and the skate community, regardless of your personal connections to it. For one, the activity is a path toward better mental and physical health. Aside from the cardio and core strength that skating inherently builds, it requires you to develop problem solving skills and resilience. People vastly underestimate the amount of nuance and time involved in mastering the simplest of skateboarding maneuvers. These traits always translate to other areas of a skater's life, even decades later. I've never met a skateboarder whose path in life wasn't directly influenced, in a positive way, by the lessons they learned from skating.

Matt Glick
Deconstruction of the former skatepark. Photo: Matt Glick
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Getting a New Location

Gift Skateboarding came around after the owner of the now-since-closed Cure Skate Shop realized the need to make skateboarding accessible to everyone. Formerly housed inside the same location as Cure Skate Shop on North Green Street in Henderson, Kentucky, Gift just got a new, and larger facility thanks to a number of fundraising events and tons of volunteer help on the build. The former skatepark underwent a deconstruction (pictured above) as the nonprofit reused as much of its existing build resources as possible.

What to Expect

The new location offers a great deal more space and the non-profit will continue with its mission to make skateboarding accessible to the youth in the community. If you would like to get involved or make a donation to help Gift Skateboarding continue its mission of providing a safe place for the community to skate, you can learn more by visiting GiftSkateboarding.com.

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Gift Skateboarding via Facebook
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Visit Gift Skateboarding

Want to visit Gift Skateboarding at its new home? You'll find it at 2480 US 41 North, Suite 170 in Henderson, Kentucky.

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