Skate for Joy

Skate for Joy Skate-A-Thon
By: Colleen O’Toole

Some skaters spun in circles, some latched on to each other to form a train, while some just glided on the ice but all with the same goal: to raise money for Skate for Joy at the first skate-a-thon held at St. George’s School in Middletown, RI on January 25, 2009.

The skate-a-thon offered people the opportunity to skate to raise money for Skate for Joy, a non-profit organization that teaches underserved youth of all backgrounds to skate. The event included over 50 participants skating; Kim Zandy from 92 Pro FM set up a table playing music and had a wheel to spin for a chance at prizes; and a raffle, which featured prizes ranging from a hockey stick signed by the Boston Bruins to Providence Bruins tickets. There was also a chance to meet Sara DeCosta, who is an Olympic gold medalist hockey goalie.

Founder and Executive Director of Skate for Joy, Carolyn Drumm, thought the event was very nice and very well organized. This was the first skate-a-thon the organization has held and Salve Regina University’s Dr. Traci Warrington and her Marketing Strategies classes helped organize the event. Drumm would like this to be an annual event held in January. Drumm said she was gracious for “Sara DeCosta taking the time posing with the Olympic medals… St. George’s for stepping up in a big way… and Traci Warrington of Salve Regina University and her class.”  St. George’s School provided the ice time for this event, as well as ice time for the Skate for Joy program this fall.

Additionally, Salve Regina University’s American Marketing Association received a $1,000 American Marketing Association Foundation (AMAF) Collegiate Chapter Community Service Grant for SRU’s AMA to use to market the event. “The American Marketing Association Foundation (AMAF) is pleased to provide support to the Salve Regina University American Marketing Association Skate for Joy Skate-A-Thon.  The AMAF’s mission is to be an essential resource to nonprofits, helping them achieve greater success through effective marketing.  As the nonprofit philanthropic arm of the American Marketing Association (AMA), the AMAF also champions and supports excellence in marketing and diversity in the marketing profession.”

After the skate-a-thon, there was an award given to the individual and team, who raised the most money. The Herbert J. Kaplan, Jr. Philanthropy Award was awarded to Mariel Guay, of North Scituate, RI, who individually raised $225 for the organization, and The Lincoln School volunteers Corey Fitzgerald and Rachael Kerzer, who as a team raised $265. Guay is a senior at Salve Regina University where she majors in Marketing, and minors in Sports Management and Business Administration, and is a two-year captain of the University’s ice hockey team. “I heard about Skate for Joy in my Marketing Strategies class with Dr. Warrington, and as skating is a passion of mine I wanted to get really involved.  Being from Rhode Island I had a lot of contacts throughout the state and made them a part of the organization,” said Guay.

Currently, Skate for Joy’s Providence program uses an outside venue, and therefore is looking for inside ice time when the program ends the second week of March. As for the off season, Drumm plans “expansion of the organization and building relationships in communities.”

For more information visit the website www.skateforjoy.com or contact Carolyn Drumm at carolyndrummsfj@yahoo.com

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