Montreal students deck out skateboards for less fortunate children around the world
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.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Why these immigrants to Canada say they're thinking about leaving, or have already moved on
For some immigrants, their dreams of permanently settling in Canada have taken an unexpected twist.
DEVELOPING Live updates from the Trump hush money trial: Stormy Daniels, bookkeeper testify
Adult film star Stormy Daniels is on the stand a second time Thursday as former U.S. president Donald Trump’s hush money case continues in Manhattan. Follow live updates here.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Here are the ultraprocessed foods you most need to avoid, according to a 30-year study
Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods can have a detrimental impact on health. But 30 years of research show they don’t all have the same impact.
Miss Teen USA steps down just days after Miss USA's resignation
Miss Teen USA resigned Wednesday, sending further shock waves through the pageant community just days after Miss USA said she would relinquish her crown.
B.C. wildfires likely to spread with weekend temperatures expected to soar, province says
Wildfire and emergency management officials in British Columbia are urging residents to be prepared for increased fire activity as temperatures are expected to soar above 30 C in parts of the province this weekend.
Listowel, Ont. football player drafted, despite only three years of experience
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
Ontario man frustrated after $3,500 paving job leaves driveway in shambles
An Ontario man considering having his driveway paved received a quote from a company for $7,000, but then, another paver in the neighbourhood knocked on his door and offered half that rate.
BREAKING Sheldon Keefe out as head coach of Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have fired head coach Sheldon Keefe. The team made the announcement Thursday after the Original Six franchise lost to the Boston Bruins in seven games in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.