GREEN BAY — At GBASO their goal is to develop social, physical and leadership skills in our youth through action sports.
Thanks to Give Big Green Bay, they will be able to help a lot more kids shred on the half-pipe.
“Once they go down that ramp for the first time, to be able to see that confidence rise in those kids – that's everything to us here,” said Shane Stout the executive director for GBASO.
The Green Bay Action Sports Organization was started by Brian Schroeder.
“GBASO was everything to him,” said Eric Peters who is the director of youth development and coaching at GBASO. “It was kind of his life’s mission to create a place for people to go and facilitate a process of learning how to funcion through fear.”
Unfortunately, Schroeder passed away three years ago from a brain tumor.
“Brian wanted to create a place that people could come to and learn that oftentimes things are way more scary in your head than they are in real life and if you have that support to boost your confidence – you can go really far in life,” Peters said.
He did create something special. A safe space for anyone to be a part of.
“I’ve seen more parents cry because they’ve seen their children, their confidence, just soar just after one time in here,” Stout said. “it’s such a life changing thing for most of these kids.”
Thanks to Give Big Green Bay the organization will be able to put that money they receive towards their no one left out program..
“(It) allows parents to come in and sign their kids up at either zero cost or what they can afford. no questions asked,” Stout. “It just opens up our space to be an all-inclusive.”
As well as their onboard program.
“Our onboard program we bring in local schools, kids, who typically who wouldn’t be able to come to our park and we give them a skateboard, we give them a helmet and we give them a skate tool and we teach them how to build a skateboard and then we provide classes for the next 6 weeks with these kids,” said Stout.
Stout says it’s awesome to watch the kids grow. and if anyone, any age, is looking for a place to feel welcomed or if they just want to learn how to skateboard:
“Just try it. “That’s all you have to do is take that first step and you’ll be hooked.”
