Philanthropy Still Exists Article at Skatepark of Tampa

Philanthropy Still Exists

Posted on Sunday, February 9, 2003 by Ari

The (preposition)
Doogood (verb) - the act of helping others in a positive way
Conservatory (place) - a school of dramatic art

The Doogood Conservatory - "Helping Skateboarding Save Lives"


    "Skateboarding saved my life." How many times have we all heard that messianic mantra? The art of applying aggression towards inanimate objects is grounded in the fields of forgotten fortitudes. Simply put, skateboarding doesn’t hurt anyone (except yourself). Albeit slightly self-destructive, skateboarding is pure freedom…you, your board, and the world.

    But for some unfortunate souls, the road to freedom is riddled with financial potholes and despondent dreams. That is where The Doogood Conservatory comes in. It’s a foundation set up to provide free skateboards to low-income families and free-to-use boards at participating skateparks (SPoT included). To learn more about the specifics of the program, go to www.doogood.org.

    Ari Evan Gold had a dream, a dream to be a philanthropist. But, he had a little problem. His daddy isn’t exactly on the Forbes 500 list. "Screw it, I’ll just do it," he thought. It started with a phone call to ASR, a letter of proposal to Allison, and BLAM, right next to Surfrider at the September 2002 ASR - FOR FREE! Many thanks go out to everyone at ASR who opened the initial door to freedom. Yep - ASR did that. After many "bro-bras" and the vehement support of key people like Sunny Zobel at Skateboarder Mag (for the first letter of support), Aaron Sedway (who donated vintage shots for the booth), and Scott Ward of Monsterskate (who designed and maintains www.doogood.org), the presentation was a success.

    First to ‘put their money where their mouth is’ goes to perennial powerhouse, Blitz Distribution, with a donation of 250 decks from Birdhouse, Flip, Firm, Baker, and Hook-ups that was received in the middle of October 2002. Blitz becomes the first official Gold Level Sponsor and SPoT becomes the first sponsored skate park – three, free to use completes arrived for Christmas, with Indy trucks and Ricta wheels. Just ask the shop boys about using the free board and give props to the SPoT for being the first.


Ari Evan Gold - Founder

Doogood Conservatory
P.O.B. 2740
Olympic Valley, CA 96146
(813) 956-5273 Home
(530) 386-2160 Cell
spiderman221@hotmail.com

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