The sold-out and wet Tony Hawk Foundation fundraiser, Tony Hawk: SHRED Presents Stand Up For Skateparks, held at billionaire Ron Burkle’s Green Acres Estate in Beverly Hills, California on Sunday raised $750,000 for quality free skatepark building.
The highlight of the day (aside from a live performance by Jane’s Addiction) was when philanthropist Charles Annenberg announced a special gift of $275,000 fro Explore.com and the Annenberg Foundation to finish the Watts Skatepark Project. Oh, and there were apparently some “celebrity” included on the 1,000 person guest list.
Celebrities including Tony Hawk, Perry Farrell, Dave Navarro, Johnny Knoxville, Chuck Liddell, Leeza Gibbons, Arsenio Hall, Ben Harper, Patrick Dempsey, BMX legend Mat Hoffman and legendary skaters Rodney Mullen, Lance Mountain, and Mike Vallely enjoyed the interactive booths while waiting for the stage and vert ramp to be dried by crews.
It’s not a party until Arsenio Hall shows up. Guests said it pretty much rained all day, but that didn’t stop Tony and friends from putting on a demo on the vert ramp or from doing great work for skateboarding.
For the official details, follow the jump.
SAN DIEGO, Oct. 19 — Despite grey skies and rain, a sold-out crowd of 1,000 guests attended the 7th annual Tony Hawk: SHRED Presents Stand Up For Skateparks signature benefit in Beverly Hills. Celebrities, athletes, fans and friends of the Tony Hawk Foundation returned to Green Acres Estate, the home of Ron Burkle, for what is considered to be one of the most unique and exciting family events in the Los Angeles area. The event raised $750,000 to further its mission of assisting low-income communities in the effort to build free, quality, public skateparks.
Celebrities including Tony Hawk, Perry Farrell, Dave Navarro, Johnny Knoxville, Chuck Liddell, Leeza Gibbons, Arsenio Hall, Ben Harper, Patrick Dempsey, BMX legend Mat Hoffman and legendary skaters Rodney Mullen, Lance Mountain, and Mike Vallely enjoyed the interactive booths while waiting for the stage and vert ramp to be dried by crews. The show went on and the expansive estate was transformed into a veritable action-sports festival highlighted by a special performance by Jane’s Addiction and a private Vert Demo with Hawk and some of the best skaters and BMX athletes in the sport. Fundraising efforts included a live and silent auction featuring one-of-a-kind items: a “Hawkized” DUB edition GT 5.0 Mustang from Galpin Auto Sports, a Roland Sands designed Harley Davidson, and a role as a playable character in Tony Hawk’s next Activision video game, among others.
Special pledge drives for specific skatepark projects have become an annual occurrence at Stand Up For Skateparks events, and have assisted communities including Compton and the Watts district of Los Angeles. This year’s drive benefits the McBride Skatepark project in Long Beach, California. Local skaters from the neighborhood that have played an integral role in the project joined Tony Hawk onstage to pump up the crowd and generate $41,500 in pledges.
The crowd cheered as philanthropist Charles Annenberg joined Hawk onstage to deliver the exciting news of a special gift of $275,000 from Explore.org, through the Annenberg Foundation, to complete the Watts Skatepark—a project whose fundraising was launched at Stand Up For Skateparks exactly a year ago.
The Tony Hawk: SHRED Presents Stand Up For Skateparks benefit was made possible through the support of Activision, Ex Drinks, Mondrian Los Angeles, Dynacraft, Quiksilver Foundation, and T-Mobile USA. To learn more about the benefit, or for information about Tony Hawk: SHRED Presents Stand Up For Skateparks at the Wynn Las Vegas on Saturday, November 6, log on to www.standupforskateparks.org.
Individuals wishing to support the Long Beach McBride Skatepark project can still contribute. Text the word RIDE to 90999 via your mobile phone to donate $10 to the Tony Hawk Foundation. Through October 30, 2010, all text donations will directly support the McBride Skatepark project in Long Beach, California. When prompted please reply with YES to confirm your gift. Full terms at mGive.com/a
