I started with a passion and a crazy dream. As a single mom I got crazy looks when I said I wanted to one day have my own skating rink. My family and I spent countless miles flying around the floor of the small local rink and outdoors on the Greenbelt. I considered buying my own indoor rink, or just doing organized outdoor skates but it never felt like it scratched the itch of what I had always wanted.

One day I stumbled across a video online of someone with a portable skating rink that could be brought to an event and tickets sold for entry and rental skates. I set my sights on this as a future business and filled my bookmarks with ideas on how to make this viable. I bought a floor, rented a U-haul, got rental skates and collected used ones. I needed somewhere to do a dry-run of this portable rink and where better than an event at the Boy and Girls Club in Boise.

My girls and I loaded the trailer and labored under the summer sun to get it ready for the kids. It went great and everyone had a blast, even though the floor was a little rough and the skates weren’t the right size for everyone.

I spent the rest of summer 2024 doing free events to garner a following and set myself up for the next summer as a proper business. But I couldn’t shake this feeling that I wasn’t in it for the profit. I kept seeing the faces of those kids from the Boys and Girls Club who had likely never had a chance to skate before. They stubbornly made their way across the floor, determined to enjoy their new activity.

This was the clientele I had been seeking and I realized I couldn’t have anything stand in between kids and having fun, certainly not ticket cost. So I applied to change my corporation to a nonprofit and began rethinking my scope and goals for summer of 2025 and beyond. My goals are to run the rink full time and have regular events that are free to all! I know how important community is and how hungry our kids are for places to go and get outside together without worrying about cost or logistics.