| Submitted by Deb Hartshorn
There's no place for us to go! There's nothing to do here!" That was the overwhelming response to a survey conducted by a team
of 6 Roads to Success (RTS) eighth graders in Spencer Middle School in rural Roane County, West Virginia, last spring.
For the Roads to Success students, this was a call to action. "Let's build a skate park!" The RTS students were taking part in the
Community Makeover Challenge, a core component of the eighth grade RTS curriculum. Over a six-week period, students
work in teams to assess needs, develop solutions and present their ideas to school leaders and classmates. The winning team in each school is awarded $500 to make their project a reality. The RTS Makeover Challenge promotes civic engagement and pride, teamwork, planning and presentation skills.
Winning projects of the RTS Community Makeover Challenge ranged from a mural celebrating diversity at PS 89 in the Bronx; to a Memorial Garden in Ripley County, West Virginia; to a town rock concert in
Roane County to raise funds to fight cancer after a classmate and teacher were diagnosed with leukemia.
In the end, the Roane Skate Park team didn't win the Challenge. The rock concert did, and raised $1,000 for the American Cancer Society. But this didn't stop them from pursuing their dream, which has
grown beyond RTS and the classroom, and become a community-wide crusade led by inspired teenagers.
"It has been amazing to see this wonderful thing happen," says Cathy Flashman, a community member raising her nephews and 14-year-old niece Miranda, one of the original RTS group. The Patch 21st Century Community Learning Center has provided the Skate Park team with support and the local theater provides a weekly meeting place to plan monthly fundraisers. Flashman, Patch Director Zach Zdanik
and Community Activist John Rogers are just three of the many adults who have volunteered as advisors involved in planning,
fundraising and outreach. But, ultimately, the project is being led by the teenagers.
The core group has grown to thirty. To date they have raised
$12,000: $5,000 from an individual donor, $2,000 from the
City of Spencer, $600 collected by a local store, as well as $1
and $2 contributions from people young and old who donate
to their monthly fundraisers - hot dog sales, gardening, car
washes. Today, everyone in the community, from the Mayor
to the youngest children, is involved.
Funding raised to date has helped the young people enlist a
skate park design firm to develop plans and artist renderings.
World renowned skateboarder Tony Hawk sent packages of Tshirts,
gifts and encouragement.
While they have a long way to go - the goal is $100,000 - the community shows no sign of stopping. The group has developed proposals to foundations and reached out to potential volunteers, and contributors of supplies and materials. Flashman helps the young people keep it in perspective- "I keep telling the young people that we only need $23 a square foot," she says. "If we can get everyone
in the community to chip in $23, we can have this built by next
summer."
Deb Hartshorn, now the RTS West Virginia Director, was the
Spencer School Facilitator for Roads to Success last year who
encouraged the young people to pursue their dreams. "That's the
difference we want to make," Hartshorn says. "These kids -
whether they were part of the Skate Park Team or any of the
other Makeover Challenge Projects in all of our partner schools
- now know that they can take action, and they can make a difference."
To learn more about Roads to Success' Community Makeover
Projects please visit www.roadstosuccess.orgÂ
To learn more about the Spencer Skate Park Project please email Volunteer Coordinator Cathy Flashman fiberhappy@yahoo.com | 
