In the past year, Levi’s® has helped create skate parks in underserved communities as far away as India and Bolivia.
But recently we set our sights a little closer to home.
On Saturday, we celebrated the grand opening of a new skate park in West Oakland, just across the bay from our corporate headquarters.
Located in DeFremery Park, long a center of social, political and community activity, the Town Park skate park came out of the commitment and passion of Keith “K-Dub” Williams, a local artist, teacher and youth activist who wanted to create a safe, constructive environment for the neighborhood’s youth.
In 2007, he began working with the City of Oakland and the community to build wood ramps there in the hopes it would prove that there was enough interest to warrant constructing a permanent, cement park.
Now, seven years later, that dream is becoming a reality.
In recent months, Levi’s heard about K-Dub’s story and were inspired by his tireless dedication. So we jumped at the opportunity to help fund the project and, in partnership with K-Dub, organized a community-wide volunteer effort to build the park.
Saturday’s ceremony — which included a ribbon cutting by Levi’s president James Curleigh, K-Dub and city officials — unveiled Phase I of the park. Phase II will begin in a year, providing an opportunity to get community feedback and determine what features to add to the skate park.
Look for a short film about the project at the beginning of 2015.
