Jacqueline Hayes-Babczak holds up her freshly painted skateboard.
It’s designed with a traffic theme, with overlapping road signs and a highway snaking across the deck. It’s one of two boards she designed for Skateboards for Hope, a community organization that gives out skateboards to children who might not otherwise have the chance to try the sport.
“Playing sports my whole life has allowed me to create so many new friends and be present in my community, so I think these skateboards will do the same,” she says.
Hayes-Babczak is a student at The Study. The upper-level art class has taken on the project of painting the boards to be donated.
"It’s great because it’s not just going to be displayed on the wall or in the museum, it’s going to be used,” said Grade 10 student Vivian Chui.
Around 2,500 boards are being decorated by Montreal-area students right now.
In it’s nearly decade in existence, Skateboards for Hope have given out 9,000 boards around the world.
Skateboards for Hope gives kids the chance to design decks that will be sent around the world. (Kelly Greig/CTV News)
“Knowing that that art is going to be given to somebody who maybe doesn’t have the same circumstance as you but will find joy in skateboarding, I think that’s the whole point,” said founder Betty Esperanza.
Many of the boards painted in Montreal are headed to Uganda and Cuba.
“Physically, mentally and spiritually, skateboarding is a very community-oriented activity because even though you do skateboarding alone, you do it with other friends,” she added.
Painting decks is also a way for the students to learn about street and pop art styles. For some it’s a chance to express themselves.
"I was having a hard time doing all the homework, it’s very stressful, and I would think of a man who is trying to create something, but they are having a hard time,” said Grade 10 student Gloria Yang.
Chui’s board shows a wide-open mouth.
"It relates to speaking out or speaking out against injustices,” she said.
For the organization’s founder, skateboarding is more than a sport. "Anyone who learns to balance on the board, that’s pretty metaphoric with life. You fall off, you get back on. When you’re on it for a minute, you think ‘oh, i can do this’.' That positive re-enforcement that you tell yourself translates into everything in life,” said Esperanza.
Canada found itself under the spotlight on Wednesday as the head of the NATO military alliance said he expects Canada to fulfil its commitment to other members and increase its defence spending to meet the needs of an increasingly dangerous world.
A mother of three children is speaking out after spending a night on the floor of Toronto Pearson Airport with her young kids in a nightmare weekend of travel.
Through the use of MRI technology and spearheaded by researchers at Western University, the cause of long COVID symptoms have been identified for the first time.
Recent data shows more than half of all flights from some of Canada's major airports are being cancelled or delayed, as frustrations for travellers mount due in part to increased summer travel and not enough airport staff.
A Nexus card is supposed to help put low-risk Canadians on the fast track when crossing the U.S. border, but at least 330,000 Canadians aren’t sure when their applications will be processed.
NATO declared Russia the 'most significant and direct threat' to its members' peace and security on Wednesday and vowed to strengthen support for Ukraine, even as that country's leader chided the alliance for not doing more to help it defeat Moscow.
Six police officers are in hospital with gunshot wounds and two suspects have been killed following a shooting at a bank in Saanich, B.C., on Tuesday.
Access to mental health services is taking a hit in Newfoundland and Labrador as psychologists in the province continue to leave the public system en masse.
The mastermind of an elaborate Ponzi scheme that cheated hundreds of people of tens of millions of dollars was sentenced Tuesday in a Barrie, Ont., courtroom. Charles Debono has been behind bars since his arrest in 2020 for his role in one of the largest Ponzi schemes in Canadian history.
Someone in Ontario is waking up $70-million richer after Tuesday's Lotto Max jackpot was won by a single ticket holder in the province.
A Nexus card is supposed to help put low-risk Canadians on the fast track when crossing the U.S. border, but at least 330,000 Canadians aren’t sure when their applications will be processed.
A mother of three children is speaking out after spending a night on the floor of Toronto Pearson Airport with her young kids in a nightmare weekend of travel.
An RCMP officer who was among 22 people killed in the 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting is being remembered today during a regimental memorial service in Halifax.
A mother of three children is speaking out after spending a night on the floor of Toronto Pearson Airport with her young kids in a nightmare weekend of travel.
A second person has been charged in connection with the murder of a man in Halifax in March.
Rodgerville Road near Hensall, Ont. is closed after a fatal crash.
London fire crews were able to knock down a blaze and save a family dog late Tuesday night.
Two motorcycle riders are facing consequences Wednesday after a collision at a Carlo Road address in Central Elgin, according to police.
City council in Sudbury gave the Junction East project its approval at Tuesday night’s meeting. The community hub will include the city’s main library, art gallery and multi-cultural-folk arts association under one roof at a cost of $98.5 million.
A mother of three children is speaking out after spending a night on the floor of Toronto Pearson Airport with her young kids in a nightmare weekend of travel.
Recent data shows more than half of all flights from some of Canada's major airports are being cancelled or delayed, as frustrations for travellers mount due in part to increased summer travel and not enough airport staff.
A drug used to treat heart attacks has proven to be an effective treatment for the most common type of stroke, and an even better treatment than the current clinical standard. says a team of Canadian researchers.
Calgary's rally is scheduled for noon in the 1400 block of Eighth Street S.W.. outside the office of Conservative MP Greg McLean.
Imperial Oil Ltd. says it and ExxonMobil Canada have entered into an agreement to sell the Montney and Duvernay oil and gas-producing areas of central Alberta to Whitecap Resources Inc. for $1.9 billion.
The family of a Black four-year-old who was removed from school by police has filed a lawsuit against the Waterloo Catholic District School Board seeking $1 million in damages for what they says is the board's discrimination and negligence.
Rodgerville Road near Hensall, Ont. is closed after a fatal crash.
Every morning, when Karli Chomick would drop her children Savanna and Ryder off at St. Timothy Catholic Elementary School in Kitchener, she would do the same thing: give them a hug and a kiss, then tell them to be kind.
It's not the typical type of donation sought, but the University of British Columbia is in need of particular items: cadavers.
A Metro Vancouver mayor captured on camera a recent and close encounter with a four-legged member of his community.
Activists rallied outside David Eby's Vancouver office calling on the B.C. attorney general to drop criminal charges against Wet'suwet'en land defenders.
The silver balls, located on Whitemud Drive near Quesnell Bridge, appeared to have been vandalized with yellow graffiti.
Rain moved through the Edmonton area overnight and delivered about five to 10 mm across the city. In the city and surrounding areas, we'll get some sunny breaks this morning. Then, another chance of showers midday as the flow switches and starts to come from the north.
Someone in Ontario is waking up $70-million richer after Tuesday's Lotto Max jackpot was won by a single ticket holder in the province.
Windsor’s largest indoor water park is scheduled to open next week.
A 30-year-old Kingsville resident is facing impaired driving charges after a crash in Lakeshore.
Manning Road in Essex is now open both directions between County Road 34/Talbot Road and County Road 46.
A death investigation is underway after a man’s body was found on the 1200 block of Rae Street early Wednesday morning, Regina Police Service (RPS) said in a release.
A 36-year-old man was not hurt after he was approached by a man with a knife and robbed of his groceries south of downtown on Monday, the Regina Police Service (RPS) said in a release.
The Government of Saskatchewan is gearing up for a joint COVID-19 booster and influenza vaccination program in the fall.
Longtime Ottawa entrepreneur, broadcaster and author Mark Sutcliffe will be running for mayor of Ottawa, sources say.
A multi-block vehicle control zone is in effect around Parliament Hill, meant to prevent a second occupation of downtown Ottawa by protesters associated with last winter’s 'Freedom Convoy' movement.
Ontario's police watchdog is investigating after Ottawa police officers shot and killed a man and injured a woman while responding to the stabbing deaths of two women.
Saskatoon police say an investigation is ongoing, amidst a large police presence on Avenue J South between 21st and 22nd street west.
One of the longest-running measures of the pandemic was lifted during Monday's city council meeting.
Prairie Spirt School Division says it will struggle to cover inflationary costs such as gas in the coming school year.
