Friends of the Ann Arbor Skatepark has received a $5,000 grant from the Tony Hawk Foundation. The Tony Hawk Foundation seeks to improve society, empower youth, and support non-profits and municipalities with the creation of public skateparks throughout the United States. Since 2002 the Tony Hawk Foundation has awarded 467 grants. In the Spring 2011 grant period, Friends of the Ann Arbor Skatepark was one of only fifteen groups to receive an award.

We will be meeting with the Ann Arbor Commission on Disability Issues this week Wednesday to discuss accessibility and barrier-free designs for the skatepark. Your input on the topic is also appreciated, you can provide it to us by attending the meeting.

Diana Kern from the Friends of the Ann Arbor Skatepark will be briefing the Ann Arbor Commission on Disability Issues on the scope of their project and seeking input regarding accommodations for the physically challenged. Project coordinators are preparing to release a Request For Proposals to hire a firm to design the amenity and are pursuing a Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund grant. The partnership is requesting community feedback on accessibility issues in order to provide for the most barrier-free design that can be achieved. The meeting will be held Wednesday, March 16, 3:15 PM, at the CTN Television Studios, 2805 S. Industrial Hwy., Suite 200.

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The Ann Arbor Skatepark Street Team is holding a bake sale on Saturday, March 26th from noon until 3:00 pm at
Arbor Brewing Company's Tap Room (114 East Washington Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48104). Come show your support for the cause and pick some delicious, home made goodies! If you are interested in contributing to the bake sale, please contact crystle@a2skatepark.org Thanks! And help spread the word!

We’d like to thank everyone for voting for us in the December Pepsi Refresh Project. With the support of the local, national and worldwide communities, we finished in 20th place! We were up against huge national and international organizations that do great work, and we’re proud to have been among them.

Unfortunately, only the top two vote-getting projects can win the $250,000 prize we were after. The exposure, support, and excitement we saw among everyone in our communities was amazing. We thank everyone who helped to get us to the ranking that we successfully achieved.

There were some key people and organizations that helped us as we plowed through December. These groups and individuals pushed hard for us by Tweeting, Facebooking, sending reminders to email lists, flyering, stuffing bags at businesses, placing table tents, sending backpack mail, giving discounts on copying, donating elbow grease and shoe leather, and giving the big pushes we needed to keep us up there in the top 20. We offer thanks in appreciation of these orgs and individuals:

A2skatepark Street Team
Ann Arbor Public Schools
Acme Mercantile
Ann Arbor YMCA
Mike Bush
City of Ann Arbor
Detroit Derby Girls
Dollar Bill Copying
Tony Hawk
Launch Board Shop
Andy Macdonald
NEW Center
Old Town
Produce Station
Roos Roast
Saline Area Schools
Sava's
Vault of Midnight
Zingerman's Community of Businesses

There’s one person that we really need to give a special thanks to, though. This person took the time to click and/or text a vote every day in December to help us compete for much-needed funding for the Ann Arbor Skatepark. We couldn’t do any of this without the most important person: you. With your help, we made a strong showing, and made sure everyone knows we have what it takes to get this skatepark built. You are the most important person in this whole project. Thank you!

We have two weeks left to win $250,000 for the skatepark with our Pepsi Refresh Project! We need to be in 1st or 2nd place to win. The big dogs are beating us right now, but we can take the lead with your help!

REMEMBER, WE NEED YOUR VOTE EVERY DAY IN DECEMBER!

Ways to vote:

• Text 104839 to 73774

• Go to this page and click "vote for this idea" http://www.refresheverything.com/a2skatepark
(detailed instructions here: http://www.a2skatepark.org/articles/pepsi-refresh )

• Download the Android app for your phone, it'll automatically text your vote each day http://www.a2skatepark.org/articles/auto-votes-your-android-phone (We're iPhone app is in the works! Keep your eyes peeled for it.)

Need reminders to vote?

• Text A2SKATEPARK to 41411 to sign up for a daily reminder which will be texted to your phone.

• Follow us on Twitter, FB and sign up for our email list at http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/a2skatepark/ Click "join this group," and log in. You'll be signed up for our mailing list. (if you want to be added without joining, send us an email at info@A2skatepark.org )

Spread the word!

• Keep posting the link to your FB, Twitter, email lists and texts! http://www.refresheverything.com/a2skatepark

• Tell everyone you see to get out their phone and text 104839 to 73774

• Make a video to spread the word, and you could win a Native Skates Deck! http://www.a2skatepark.org/articles/make-video-win-shirt-and-maybe-deck

Here's our latest Pepsi Refresh contest!

Make a 1 minute video promoting our Pepsi Refresh project. Send the YouTube link to telleveryone@a2skatepark.org.

On December 24, at 3:00 PM EST, the 3 videos we’ve received that have the most YouTube views win a deck from Native Skates! Every video entered wins a skatepark shirt!

Now for the fine print...

Video should be about 1 minute long.

The video MUST have:
Our Pepsi Refresh address: http://www.refresheverything.com/a2skatepark
Text-to-vote info: Text 104839 to "Pepsi" (73774)

Now there's a way you can vote for our Pepsi Refresh Project without even trying! Download this cool Android app and your phone will automatically text your vote each day!

Scan the image below with your android phone to get to the app. Install it, and accept the license, and you'll be voting automatically every day this month (it self-destructs after 2010 :-)

Remember, you can still vote online and/or via text!

The Friends of the Ann Arbor Skatepark want you! We have submitted a $250,000 grant request in the Pepsi Refresh Project and we want you to VOTE EVERY DAY during the month of December. Pepsi Refresh awards grants each month to the projects with the most votes, so do your part and VOTE NOW!

This story was updated on 11/30/10

At noon on Saturday, November 20, at the Vault of Midnight (219 South Main Street, Ann Arbor), the Friends of the Ann Arbor Skatepark Street Team announced participation in the Pepsi Refresh Project. The Street Team is made up of youth volunteers who are working to raise the money needed to build a world-class public skatepark in Ann Arbor. Michigan.

The Friends of the Ann Arbor Skatepark, an Ann Arbor nonprofit organization, has submitted a $250,000 grant request to the Pepsi Refresh Project. The Pepsi Refresh Project is an online grant program that funds ideas to improve communities across the country. This year, Pepsi will award $1.3 million per month, funding up to 32 grant requests each month. Voters can vote once a day for up to ten ideas.

The Friends of the Ann Arbor Skatepark needs your online votes EVERY DAY during the month of December. If the grant is secured, $250,000 will be awarded to build a world-class public skatepark in Ann Arbor, Michigan. “We could win this grant if every one of the thousands of citizens who support the building of a free, public skatepark in Ann Arbor votes for our project every day in December. If we’re awarded this grant, we could be able to start construction of phase 1 of the Ann Arbor Skatepark,” says FAASP chair Trevor Staples. Cast your vote once a day beginning December 1st, through December 31st at www.refresheverything.com/a2skatepark

Remember, the Washtenaw County Parks Commission has pledged $400,000 in matching funds. Once we reach the $400,000 mark in our fundraising, it will be doubled! This $250,000 grant will be HUGE for the project!

About The Friends of the Ann Arbor Skatepark
The Friends of the Ann Arbor Skatepark is a coalition of parents, skaters, teachers, business and community leaders, dedicated to the development of a public skatepark in Ann Arbor. Their mission is to build a free, public, concrete skatepark as a permanent resource for residents in the Ann Arbor area. The skatepark will be designed and built by an experienced skatepark contractor, and include local skaters in the design process.

At our last Street Team we passed out empty coffee cans to turn into donation cans. Each person that decorates one, and then hopefully finds somewhere to host it (such as a local store), will get a raffle ticket. Find two stores that want to help raise money for the Ann Arbor Skatepark, and you will get two raffle tickets! Each raffle ticket gives you the chance to win a skateboard donated by Launch Board Shop! The A2 Skatepark Street Team meets on the third Saturday of each month at The Vault of Midnight.