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Boards for Brazil

Jeff Markman is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Timothy Schaefer.
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My name is Jeff Markman and I am on a mission to get as many skateboards to orphans in Brazil as possible. I am 34 years old. I am from Seal Beach California. I have been using a skateboard as transportation, and a creative outlet for 30 years. Most of my life I have not owned or required a vehicle because I use the skateboard to cross long distances. I enjoy every different kind of skateboarding, from tricks and small wheels, and skatepark and street, to literally cross country with the big wheels and also hill bombing. I am a person that the invention of the skateboard has benefitted from so much that I want to explain this to everyone. I love it. I love it for myself, and for everyone else who needs and wants to ride skateboards as well. The reasons for the skateboard being the thing to give orphans over other things is this. A skateboard never requires gasoline, motors, batteries, tire tubes, or chains. It is only powered by the physical energy of the skateboarder which is exercise all day every day. Skateboarding is being brought into the Olympics now so a skateboarder on the highest levels can also potentially become an Olympic Medalist for their country. When I found out that there are 3.7 million Orphans in Brazil, I decided that I want to and am going to make a physical statement to stand up even if I only scratch the surface to face such an outrageous and to me intolerable reality that our neighbors are facing. The skateboard has helped me through my life so much that I want these kids to have a great way to go as well. The horror stories are so intense that I have to help them. Kids that are born into abandonment. Born into sex trade and terror. No name, no birthday, just born into basically the scariest reality imaginable. The first groups of kids that will be receiving boards are in Fortaleza and my best friend Tim Schaefer is going to be hand assembling and delivering them himself. So I know and  we all know that good boards are assembled correctly and delivered properly. Tim has been traveling to Fortaleza where he skateboards with a group of Brazilian skateboarders and has seen first hand how much this benefit is to us a necessity.  We are still in the process of contacting the specific children's homes that the first boards will be given to, and we have our Brazilian friends Ivan Rocha and Nicanor Galba also assisting us in that process. When the kids get the boards Tim will get photos/video so we can all see them. In Durango Colorado another really good friend of Tim and mine is John Agnew owner of the Boarding Haus, has been helping Tim with skateboards for 13 years, and helps out the entire community with contests. He is helping us get all the skateboards ordered and that side of things with the hard goods. The skateboards are coming straight from our hearts here in America to their's in Brazil. Every contribution will be appreciated by me specifically because I want these kids to know that we in America know that they exist and we care about them and that they were born into abandonment, but they won't be abandoned forever, and that we love our neighbors. If you read all the way through this thank you, I am grateful. I will be posting and documenting with a go pro on my instagram which is @junkfoodjeffrey1985 so everyone can see my progress. My journey should take me 12 to 14 days, and I plan on surviving and skateboarding every possible inch. I will be leaving on October 1st in 15 days. I have big road wheels and will be avoiding traffic by traveling at hours according to when I feel safe to roll. I have also been training by skateboarding all over La Plata county in 30 to 40 mile stretches to prepare for rough conditions and my required mileage. If it needs to take closer to 20 days to shorten up my daily mile quota that will have to be ok. I am going completely by myself and no cars trolling. I am starting from Chapman Hill in Durango Colorado and I am finishing at Cherry Skate Park in Long Beach California. This is a self funded trip to take a stand for children. Every single penny from donation is turning into skateboards for them, and we need the money in by November 1st. I was planning on  going back to work like regular when the trip is over. So this winter I am going to teach snowboarding with my older brother Matt Markman @surfandsnowcoach in Big Bear. You can see Tim Schaefer @blackjackbuck and John Agnew @theboardinghaus on instagram. Also Ivan Rocha @ivangrenaderocha and Nicanor Galba  @nicanorgalba Thanks again for everything everybody. Together we will change lives.

Donations 

  • Michael Toerge
    • $200
    • 5 yrs

Organizer and beneficiary

Jeff Markman
Organizer
Durango, CO
Timothy Schaefer
Beneficiary
  • September 15th, 2019
  • Faith
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