The A.skate Foundation 

CRYS'S BLOG:

10-1-11

THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED!! HUGE NETWORKING SUCCESS!!

Click on the images below to see photos from A.skate's Instagram Popular page takeover on Monday 9/26





5-30-11

So sad to see our homies go back to NYC!! We will miss them. Sasha and Fallon have made such bonds with Ben and Mike.  Fallon has even asked if he will be able to travel to visit them in NY when he's a teenager. Ha. Umm.... we'll talk about that when you're older son.  The yankees really know how to capture incredible aspects of parents emotions.  The past week I have felt so many emotions. Being forced to talk about how I feel and why I do the things that I do has really opened my eyes in the view of my son.  As each day passes by I see change in him for the better.  He makes all of us a better person and without him I would not be the person I am today.  Ben asked me at some point why it seems like the south is coming together so much more willingly than other areas of devistation we have seen on television.  I didn't have an answer for it but I do believe in my heart that it has to do with the ability to openly and freely reach out in public to our Faith of choice.  No matter what you consider being Faith, in the south it's still very standard to say "what church do you belong to" without being looked at like an outcast.  Having that something to believe in and hold on to helps our community gather and move forward instead of dwelling on what has happened.  We traveled all over the area bringing food, clothes, water, and toys to shelters for tornado victims.  At every stop the shelters were at a church that had little old ladies inside cooking meals for the community while the men were sweating working hard cleaning up rubbish and repairing their neighbors roofs to the rain from coming inside.  At one point we passed by a house that had a man sitting in a folding chair drinking an Arizona tea in his doorway.  The house was completely falling apart but he didn't want to leave his home.  We asked him if he needed anything because we had a truck load of everything you could imagine.  He responded that he had more donations than he could imagine and had to turn things away.  He was still waiting on FEMA to come and help him with his house situation but in the mean time the locals too it upon themselves to help him rebuild on their own because the promise of FEMA was uncertain.  What an overwhelming experience this all has been. 

5-29-11

A.skate in Nashville, TN!!!!  A week ago we have 0 kids signed up for the clinic and the day of it was over capacity!  That's how it goes sometimes! Once the right person hears about it, it spreads like a wildfire!  Thank you to all who came out to participate and volunteer. Sixth Avenue Skatepark is a great place and such great people to work with. Already planning our next trip there....

5-22-11

Had a clinic in Canton, GA today at Progressive Skate Park.  Had the pleasure of staying the weekend with Mike and Jamie DeLuca who are the most rad people I have ever met.  The clinic went great and so many families had such a wonderful time.  A few were walk ins we met at the annual TACA family picnic the day before. We were so excited to travel back to our southern roots and hold smaller scale clinics. Can not wait to go back!!

Last night we picked up our friends Ben Duffy and Mike Sassano who traveled from NYC to stay with us for a couple of weeks.  They are working on a full length documentary movie on our family and the making of a.skate.  This should be fun!

4-27-11

Today we woke up at 5am to a really loud thunder and lots of hail and rain. We looked out the window and saw trees flying through the air so we grabbed the children and ran to the basement for shelter only assuming a tornado had hit.  When the storm was over we turned on the television to find out that was only 1 of 150 expected tornados throughout the south east to hit later that day. Wednesday evening we gathered in the basement praying that whatever storm we are being warned of misses our home and our family is safe. The news showed a tornado in Tuscaloosa, AL, just miles from our home, that destroyed the town and places we love to go. That tornado grew in size before our eyes over the half hour it was filmed. By the time it was a mile wide and considered an EF-5 the news said it was 5 minutes away from hitting our small town outside of Tuscaloosa, AL. I can not even express how scared we were; all we could do was hope for the best and prepare for the worst.  Minutes go by and we watch as the news reports the EF-5 has shifted direction.  How and why we were spared we will always wonder but never forget. We will forever be thankful for the moment we were able to breathe relief.  Throughout the night 10 other tornados touched down all within just miles from our home but none of them damaging to our family.

Ironic enough, that same day we received the first issue of Tuscaloosa Magazine in the mail which had a feature of the 6 most intriguing people of the year in Tuscaloosa, AL.  Our own Crys Worley was chosen as one of those persons.  We are so honored to represent the city that we love and people we care for.

We wanted to reach out to A.skate supporters and make it known that we would be gathering necessary items such as clothing, shoes, toys, and non perishable foods to give to the American Red Cross and assist families in need.  Our supporters went above and beyond helping spread our flyer asking for help and it ended up on every skateboard website and many others. Thank you to everyone no matter if it was a thought hoping that our family was ok or going through your closet and mailing items that are no longer used and needed.  We appreciate everything and hope that everyone out there knows and understands how grateful we are! Thank you!

4-25-11

Vans has stepped up and made their mark spreading awareness of Autism through their new series on Offthewall.TV called Pass the Bucket.

About Pass The Bucket:

"A look into the humanitarian side of today's most celebrated action sport athletes, musicians, artists and
foundations. A raw and transparent conversation of today's shocking realities and potential solutions."

In church you pass a basket to collect money to keep the building lights on.
In alcoholics anonymous you pass a can to collect money to keep the coffee fresh.
A musician passes a hat keeping his passion alive.
A homeless man holds a cup hoping for handouts to survive.

All of the containers are filled or empty based on the compassion and generosity of others.
Today, more than ever there is a need for people to become aware of the issues at hand and become
pro-active in fighting for change. The opportunities to be selfless and contribute are endless and therefore
the large bucket is passed.

Click on the image below to  watch the series:

4-15-11

A.skate - SoCal chapter

A.skate is working on finalizing the works of a SoCal chapter! We are so excited and will be working hard to organize clinics on a monthly basis. Elisa Swan will be organizing the registration lists and can answer most all questions or direct you to the person you need to speak with if she is unable to help you! Elisa is also a huge part of our fundraising team in SoCal so hit her up with some ideas! Her email is elisa@askate.org 

Russ Sakuri, Martina Sakuri, and Alex Roland will be in charge of coordinating dates, locations, assist with fundraising, and attend events giving out information while representing A.skate. We have a really great team forming in SoCal and are very excited to have the trust and friendships with these individuals who care so much about the autism community! Thank you all and we are so excited to work with everyone!

4-10-11

World Autism Day in CA continued.

We are so fortunate to have so much support within the skate community.  When Etnies contacted us asking if we would host a skate clinic in honor of the Etnies x Autism Speaks collaboration shoe we did not hesitate to commit! We are so thankful to be asked to be a part of such a huge opportunity for awareness that we wanted to share our experience again!

Skateboard Magazine

OC Register

 4-7-2011

The most frequently asked question we receive from parents is "can their siblings participate?"  Our clinics are set up to work with children on the autism spectrum for many reasons however 99.9% of the time when the siblings come to a clinic with their family we allow them to participate as well, we never leave them out, but we do not register siblings to participate.  Most people look at what we do and think oh how cool, they are skateboarding with children who have autism. Sure some can look at it that way but we do not. We skate, we have children with autism, and we see the long term benefits that skateboarding has on children with autism. If we were to hold a clinic and have 60 spots open allowing siblings to participate, we are taking away the ability to introduce skateboarding to 30+ other children on the autism spectrum.  Most typical children can get on a skateboard teach themselves. We offer training to children on the spectrum so that the next time you take your children to a skatepark, you now have a little less to worry about. Your child on the spectrum needs less assistance now. Our volunteers work with the children on the spectrum one on one giving them the skills, training, and tools needed to use skateboarding as a self therapy in years to come when they are older. 

Most parents do not look into the future when they attend one of our clinics but the more their child responds to skateboarding the more they understand. In the skate community you can ask any skateboarder why they love skating, how does it help them and why do they skate. Most likely you will get an answer similar to this. Skating is one thing that many go to when they are stressed, feeling down, overwhelmed, and needing an outlet of their own. This applies to our children as well. While they are young they learn the skills. As they get older we learn that they can apply those skills and use skateboarding as that outlet and self therapy. So next time you look into signing up for an A.skate clinic remember the long term goals of our efforts. We give grants to children on the autism spectrum so that they can continue to grow and accell in skateboarding with safe equiptment. We do what we do because we love our children. Anyone can hold a "skate clinic" for children with autism but it comes from the heart and soul of skateboarding through A.skate.

4-2-11

Day 23 A.skate and US of Autism met to begin the filming of a day at the Worley home. They also filmed a skate clinic which turned out to be one of the best despite the rain! Read about day 23 HERE 

The United States of Autism movie trailer can now been viewed HERE

To contribute to their post production kickstarter campaign click HERE

4-4-11

On World Autism Awareness Day and we were in California hosting 2 clinics and having a fundraiser all in the same weekend! Etnies and Autism Speaks collaborated on an autism awareness shoe that launched not too long ago. Enites is honoring World Autism Day by joining Autism Speaks and A.skate Foundation providing free skateboard clinics for 80 children with autism. Read the recap and watch the video from April 2nd HERE

After the 5 hours in Lake Forest we hurried to Venice to get ready for the 2nd annual "1 in 91" art fundraiser hosted by Upper Class Label benefiting A.skate. What a beautiful group of girls at UCL who work so hard helping people doing good things in this country. GBMC apparel was there holding one of their famous photobooth's for free. Photos can be seen and downloaded HERE.   Vans met us at our hotel and began filming for an episode of Pass the Bucket. They traveled with us to our events and through drive thru's for Sasha. It was such a great experience!

April 3rd we held a clinic at Girl skatepark in Torrance, CA (near LA). over 45 kids showed up (many with their siblings) and the day began. Skateboarder Mag and Blueprint skateboards helped organize the clinic and brought volutneers. Many had just arrived from the UK to work with the kids before going on tour. Jokers Skateshop from Huntington Beach, CA came to volunteer and will soon be part of a chapter being created in SoCal to hold clinics on a more regular basis. Recap of the April 3rd event HERE 

2-28-11

A.skate is so proud to be partnered with Zoo York for a special collaboration deck that launched this month. Please contact your local skate shop to see if they have this deck available! If not request that they get it for you and if that isn't possible as a last resort you can purchase it on our website HERE