TUCSON, Ariz. — Amy Denet Deal began the Diné Garden Skate Project in 2021. The initiative using skateboarding to inspire young kids on the Navajo Nation.
"A lot of our kids live in this remote area over 27,000 square miles," Denet Deal said. "They suffer four times the normal rate of teen suicide, depression, diabetes and it just made me realize the need. The need to give them access — equal access — to the sport."
Over the past three years, Denet Deal has led the effort to build the only skate park on the Navajo Nation, while also giving out more than 7,000 helmets and skateboards.
"You get to hand the equipment and they look at you and they're like, 'can I keep it?' And you get to say, 'it's just for you,'" Denet Deal said.
The non-profit also has mentorship programs that teach the kids how to skate.
"I don't know any other sport that I've seen this reaction from children where they cannot wait to get on that skateboard," Denet Deal said.
The project has secured 2,000 skateboards for this year and they're now raising money for helmets.
"Bringing joy to these kids, there's just nothing like it," Denet Deal said. "To know it's going to be there with them for the rest of their life and for them to know a Navajo woman, a Navajo agency and a Navajo distribution team, to know they have their own people taking care of them."
Denet Deal and her team will have their first distribution event September 3rd in Window Rock, Arizona.
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Erin Patterson is a reporter for KGUN 9. She's agraduate of the University of Alabama with a Bachelor’s in News Media with a Sports Concentration. Erin recently obtained her Master's Degree in Sports Journalism from Arizona State University at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, where she gained experience a sports reporter, anchor and producer. Share your story ideas and important issues with Erin by emailing erin.patterson@kgun9.com.
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