Tony Hawk Foundation Reaches $2-Million Mark

E365 -- Tony Hawk is already a living ledgend, gaining fame and popularity in both the skateboarding community and the public in general. He's already done so much to bring the sport into the limelight, and show that skateboarders are not criminals by dint of their hobby. But that's not enough for the entreped pioneer - he's also got a foundation that helps low-income communities around the States. Recently, the foundation broke the $2-million mark. Awesome.

The Tony Hawk Foundation Board of Directors voted to award 29 grants worth $255,000 for the construction of new pubic skateparks in low-income communities across the US. This series of grants and a special Pledge Drive in October that raised $60,500 for the Compton skatepark project brings the Foundation's total funding of public skateparks to more than $2-million.

The latest grant-award recipients were selected from a pool of 78 applicants, and brings the total number of Tony Hawk Foundation grants to 365.

Since 2002 the Foundation has been working with public officials and skatepark advocates to advise them on their skatepark projects and to provide funding for skateparks in low-income areas.

At the Foundation's fourth-annual Tony Hawk's Proving Ground Stand Up For Skateparks fundraiser in October, a special Pledge Drive earned $60,500 for the Compton, California skatepark project. Tony visited Compton City Hall in November to present the Pledge Drive check to members of the City Council. Combined with a $10,000 grant awarded in 2006, the total contribution from the Tony Hawk Foundation for the Compton skatepark comes to $70,500.

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