Final kick, push scheduled for Port Huron Skate Park fundraiser

Port Huron is working hard to fundraise for an updated skate park.
An end-of-August fundraising deadline has been extended through the end of the year, meaning that the Port Huron Skate Park fundraiser is that much more likely to reach its $250,000 fundraising goal.

A fundraising dinner is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 23, at Wings Etc. in downtown Port Huron. On that day, from 4 p.m. to midnight, customers that present the coupon found on this Facebook event will have 10 percent of the proceeds of their bill donated to the fundraising campaign.

Fundraising efforts for the 10,000 square foot skate park currently stand at approximately $190,000.

While that seems like a lot, organizers are hoping for much more. That’s because, should they reach their $250,000 goal, the skate park receives a $50,000 matching grant from the city of Port Huron and a $250,000 matching grant from the Tony Hawk Foundation and the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, meaning that every dollar raised means an actual four dollars raised.

"Honestly, if you told me we’d raise this much money at the beginning of all this I would have been optimistic, but on the inside I’d be a bit hesitant if we could raise this much money for a skate park. We’re so pleased by the amount of support we’ve received," says John Eppley, general manager of Alpine Cycles, one of the main champions of the skate park fundraising efforts.

"It’s a huge amount of money. It’s so cool to see everyone come together."

It’s a big couple of weeks for Alpine Cycles. The bicycle and action sports shop will soon be celebrating the 1,600 square foot expansion of its facilities with a permanent winter sports showroom.

That grand opening is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 30, typically referred to as Small Business Saturday.

"With the ups and the downs of the industry, we’ve seen massive changes and stuck through it all," Eppley says of the business, which was founded in 1981.

"We want to keep that mom-and-pop feel and bring it through the 21st century."

Got a development news story to share? Email MJ Galbraith here or send him a tweet @mikegalbraith.