Skating program takes center ice
Skating program takes center ice
By Joe Baker, Daily News staff, 1/9/09
Like millions of Americans, Carolyn Drumm watches Oprah Winfrey’s show when she can. And because she does, youngsters in Providence and Newport are reaping the rewards.
Seven years ago, after watching an Oprah segment entitled “Use Your Life,” Drumm had what she called “a light-bulb moment.” The show urged people to use their own special skills to help others. Drumm, a former professional figure skater, was inspired to create “Skate For Joy,” a not-for-profit program designed to teach underprivileged children how to ice skate.
“I was working for my husband’s construction company at the time,” Drumm recalled recently. “When I saw that show, I said, ‘Gee, I used to be a pretty good skater at one time. Why don’t I do something with that?’”
At the time, her husband’s company was doing some work at the Urban League of Rhode Island headquarters in Providence. Drumm spoke to officials there and arranged to take some children down to the outdoor skating rink in downtown Providence. The program, which offers instruction for figure skating and ice hockey, has been running in the capital city for seven years.
After a half-hour of instruction, kids get another half-hour of free skating under the watchful eyes of the volunteer instructors. At the end of the eight-week program, children are tested. Those that pass can be moved up to a higher level of instruction, Drumm said. All skaters are invited to attend an end-of-the-year banquet, where they receive graduation badges.
The program also offers scholarships and grants to young skaters, she said.
The program is about more than just skating, though. Drumm said organizers also bring in a “life-skills speaker” to talk to the kids.
“The message is that if you want to play hockey, you have to do well in school,” Drumm said. Last year, an official at St. George’s School in Middletown read about Drumm’s program and asked if she would be interested in running the program at the school’s rink. Drumm quickly agreed. It was a luxury, she said, to give the lessons indoors.
“They gave us the red-carpet treatment here,” Drumm said of St. George’s.
On Sunday, Jan. 25, Skate For Joy will hold a Skate-A-Thon at the St. George’s rink to raise money for the program. Skaters will try to raise money through pledges. All money raised will go to the program, Drumm said.
Send reporter Joe Baker e-mail at Baker@NewportRI.com.