Sunday, January 18, 2009
By KATIE SEMINARA
Some clumped and others glided at a skating event that doubled as a food drive.
YOUNGSTOWN — “Make sure they’re tied all the way to the top,” Tasha Ziegler of Youngstown said to her son Gabriel Davis, 11, and three nephews while the boys prepared for a night of roller skating.
The four boys raced to get their four-wheeled shoes on with anticipation of joining the other skaters whizzing by on the rink.
“I’m skating near the wall till I get it,” said Ziegler’s 12-year-old nephew, Ayers Bunch of Youngstown.
Ziegler brought the boys to the skating function at Youngstown Skate hosted by St. Andrewes AME Church of Youngstown on Saturday.
The event started as a Sunday school activity, then grew to a communitywide function that doubled as a food drive, said Carol Smith, a Sunday school teacher at St. Andrewes.
“We thought if people brought in a canned good, we could replenish Second Harvest [Food Bank] after the holidays,” she said.
About 70 people attended the free event, and those who donated nonperishable food items got a free skate rental.
“Even with the weather, people are coming in. I’m amazed and impressed,” said the Rev. Steven Jackson.
“It puts a smile on the kids’ faces and gets them some exercise,” he said of the event.
Bunch and his cousins, Davis, John Allen, 10, and C.J. Brewton, 13, all of Youngstown, were more concerned with staying on their feet than increasing their heart rates.
As the four boys made their way to the edge of the rink, they were alerted that they were going against traffic.
“You got to skate this way,” said Ziegler, directing the boys in the right direction.
And with his first step onto the slick rink, Bunch took a graceful spill.
“You aren’t going to get the hang of it unless you get out there,” Ziegler said.
The boys joined the masses and picked up the skating groove in no time.
Unlike some older skaters, Iyanna Whipple, 2, and Aalayah Swope, 5, of Youngstown needed a little assistance getting around the rink.
Iyanna’s dad, Wil Whipple, 32, had both girls by the hand and was there to pick them up if they fell.
“The kids love it, and that’s the most important thing,” he said of the event.
“Plus, throw in the nonperishable food items, who knows how far that will go,” said Wil, noting that even the little gifts people give can go a long way.
Whipple also brought his two older daughters, Imani, 6, and Jemyra, 10, out for the family activity.
Skaters participated in a limbo contest and races, while some adults just enjoyed from the sidelines.
“Did you see that?” asked Alice Saunders excitedly as she watched her 15-year-old granddaughter, Jamie Hubler of Youngstown.
“The kids are enjoying themselves. I wish I could do it,” she said.
Hubler and her friend Amber Reed, 15, of Youngstown said they hadn’t been skating in years, as they helped each other around the slippery circle.
“We got to get out of the house,” the girls said when asked about the nicest part of the church activity.
Nancy Murray of Youngstown also brought a group of her grandchildren out to skate, as well as their friends.
Both young and old learn how to skate in a positive atmosphere, and events such as this teach children basic life lessons, she said.
“If they fall down, they get right back up,” said Murray of one lesson learned.
The other lesson Murray said the event taught was “if you want to get something, you give something.”