Charland is the executive director of Skate Raleigh, a nonprofit advocating for and activating more skating in Raleigh.
"It's so easy to be a skater, but how do you get into skating? So we're working with a lot of small businesses. We're working with roller skate rental companies, with programming companies, with photography, with even beer vendors to create these hubs of activity," continued Charland.
But the work to create these hubs hit a snag after Charland said Skate Raleigh's trailer full of equipment was stolen off the street in front of his home.
"I come home on Tuesday and the trailer is just gone," Charland recalled.
"I had a lock on the trailer. Really nice, master lock, and found it in the creek. Someone had just pried it off and split it into two. That's why the lock was on there, at least trying to slow someone down. But it couldn't slow them down from stealing," he continued.
Ramps, marketing items, equipment, and everything else Skate Raleigh has worked to either buy or build were inside the stolen trailer.
"We've spent the last year planning, fundraising, and getting sponsors, and we had a build night last month to build everything that we bought from a couple of different companies out in California. So about $15,000 worth of equipment was in there. "
Charland said he filed a police report with the Raleigh Police Department. Police said the trailer was stolen on July 9th and remains an active investigation.
"We lost a whole organization in a box overnight.
Charland shared that the equipment in the trailer was to help skate Raleigh pop up in communities across the city. The first event was about two weeks ago in Moore Square. The pop-ups are supposed to fill the gap when the Conlon Family Skate Park in Raleigh closes at the end of the year.
"The pop-up is really to get data about where people are skating across the city. So it's seeing a lot of our urban spaces, a lot of our fringe spaces, a lot of our underutilized spaces. So we're seeing how successful skating is in places where you wouldn't normally see it, across the city or maybe you would see it."
Despite the setback, Charland said it won't stop them from continuing their mission.
"The beautiful thing about what we've done is there's always a way. So honestly, I haven't lost sleep about it. Like everything. So many people have been so supportive and encouraging about what we're doing before the trailer. After the trailer. Like it'll keep going. We'll find a way ."
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