The Tony Hawk Foundation held its third-annual Tony Hawk's Project 8 Stand Up For Skateparks benefit on Sunday, November 5 in Beverly Hills raising more than $950,000 for the foundation. Co-chaired by Tony Hawk, Sean Penn, Jamie Lee Curtis, David Spade, Jon Favreau, Benicio Del Toro, Stacy Peralta, Mat Hoffman, Shaun White, Chad Hedrick, Robert Kotick (Activision), and Bob McKnight (Quiksilver), the family-centric carnival included games, music, and a vert demo by Tony and friends.
The sold-out event was made possible by Activision, presented by Cartoon Network, and sponsored by g?, Ultimate Fighting Championship, Quiksilver, Adio, FUEL TV, Jeep, DUB, Wasserman Foundation, Bell Helmets, Birdhouse, NetJets, Creative Artists Agency, PlayStation, Nixon, and InfoSpace. The 900 guests flocked to an exclusive Beverly Hills estate to watch Tony put on a vert demo with Shaun White, Bucky Lasek, Pierre Luc Gagnon, Jean Postec, and Mat Hoffman.
Many celebrities came to show their support, including Jamie Lee Curtis, Fred Durst, Michael Rapaport, Holly Robinson Peete, Kathy Ireland, David Spade, The Wallflowers' Jakob Dylan, and Jon Favreau.
After the demo, guests helped the Foundation raise record funds during the live auction that featured a “Hawkized” 2007 Jeep Wrangler 4-Door Unlimited, customized by DUB, and other unique items, including the opportunity to become a character in the next Tony Hawk Activision video game. Guests were then treated to live music by the Boom Boom HuckJam's Anarchy Orchestra (with guest appearances by Perry Farrell and Men At Work's Colin Hay) and rapper/skater Lupe Fiasco, who performed his hit, “Kick, Push.”
The mission of the Tony Hawk Foundation is to help finance and provide guidance in the development of free public skateparks in low-income areas across the United States. Proceeds from Tony Hawk's Project 8 Stand Up For Skateparks will help the Foundation fulfill its mission to create skateparks where they're needed most.
