originally posted on 10/12/2019
Photo: Courtesy Coasting for Kids. View full-sized image.
Coasting for Kids is a partnership in the amusement park industry to celebrate fundraising for Give Kids The World by riding roller coasters. These events have been hosted in various parks in the previous seven years and have raised more than $700,000.
Coasting for Kids returned in 2019 with a very successful outcome of $137,577 raised and 14 parks participating, which far exceeded the initial goals when the conversation to host it again began last September. The hope was for 12 parks to participate and for ACE to raise $100,000.
“The events this year exceeded all of our expectations. We knew the event was well received in its first run, and there was a demand for it to make a return,” said Steven Amos, director of development for Give Kids The World. “ACE took a great lead early on this year helping with organizing theme parks and motivating their members to get involved at the events throughout the country.”
Photo: Courtesy Coasting for Kids. View full-sized image.
Give Kids The World fulfills wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses and their families to visit theme parks in the Orlando area, often staying at Give Kids The World Village itself. It offers the family a cost-free vacation designed with their needs in mind. All expenses are covered, including housing, food, park tickets and special treats, such as all-you-can-eat ice cream, visits from characters and a special holiday celebration every day. The entire village is specially designed to accommodate wheelchairs, utilizes a zero-entry pool and celebrates Christmas every week. Each family receives tickets to visit Walt Disney World, SeaWorld Orlando and Universal Studios Florida, courtesy of the parks. Those not familiar with the Village can see more at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKHyDZo7OFs.
All of this is made possible by fundraisers like Coasting for Kids and generous donations. “The events this year made Coasting for Kids one of the most successful years in its history, which in return helped fulfill countless amounts of wishes. There is something incredible about getting a group of people together who can take that passion of coasters and have it make such an incredible impact,” said Amos.
Coasting for Kids kicked off with the first event in March at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. This year 15 events were held across the nation. Host parks were Frontier City, The Great Escape, Indiana Beach Boardwalk Resort, Legoland Florida, Sesame Place, Six Flags America, Quassy Amusement Park, Silverwood Theme Park, Six Flags Darien Lake, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, Six Flags Over Texas, Six Flags Over Georgia and Story Land. The effort concluded with an event at Kennywood featuring ERT on The Steel Curtain.
Photo: Courtesy Coasting for Kids. View full-sized image.
“Since first learning about Give Kids The World a few years ago, I’ve wanted to find a way to get Kennywood involved with a fundraiser like Coasting for Kids,” said Nick Paradise, director of public relations at Kennywood. “The timing was perfect with the new Steel Curtain to draw interest. Selling boats from our retired Log Jammer also helped raise the most money a Coasting for Kids event has ever generated. . . . We were thrilled at how it turned out and can’t wait to try and top it in 2020.”
Fundraiser participants were awarded the opportunity to attend the Coasting for Kids event at the park of their choice and receive a 2019 Coasting for Kids T-shirt by raising (or donating) at least $100. Thanks to partnerships within the industry, many manufacturers sponsored the event, making some extra prize levels available. Anyone raising $250 received a Coasting for Kids drawstring bag, $350 sent them home with a new water bottle and $500 secured a new hat for their collection.
Amos shared, “The most surprising part this year was seeing that even though the event season lasted six months, the enthusiasm never tapered. ACE remained strong the entire season and finished off on a strong note by taking Top Team Fundraiser at Kennywood, an event that helped raise over $43,000 for Give Kids The World.”
Parks offered various treats to attendees, including extra ride time, backstage tours, lunch vouchers, expedited ride passes and an exclusive auction.
The ACE Cares team placed in the Top 3 at 13 of the 15 events, so a huge congratulations goes to our members and their friends who took the time to ask their friends and family to support this cause.
Congratulations to team leaders who led their ACE Cares team to be the top fundraising team at their event: Wade Abbott at The Great Escape and Six Flags Darien Lake, David Lipnicky at Frontier City and Six Flags Fiesta Texas, Sam Marks at Six Flags America, Adam Napotnik at Kennywood, Elizabeth Ringas at Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Robert Ulrich at Six Flags Over Georgia.
Photo: Courtesy Coasting for Kids. View full-sized image.
A shoutout goes to Clint Novak, general manager of Funland of Fredericksburg and co-host of the new ACE Podcast, “Ride With Us,” who was the top ACE Cares fundraiser across all of the events. What motivated Clint to achieve such a high level of fundraising? “For more than 10 years I have supported Give Kids The World. I am extremely honored to support them this year with my ACE friends and family,” said Novak. “I am so happy I was able to contribute to the team that together made it such a successful event. There is nothing better than raising money for a great organization and enjoying a hobby we love so much. I can’t wait to see what the ACE Cares team can raise next year.”
Rounding out the Top 5 individual fundraisers:
No. 2 — David Lipnicky with $1,809 at Six Flags Over Texas
No. 3 — Adam Napotnik with $1,170 at Kennywood
No. 4 — Melinda Gaspari with $1,159 at Busch Gardens Williamsburg
No. 5 — Mark Murphy with $1,030 at Six Flags Darien Lake
The ACE Cares team raised close to 20 percent of the total funds raised across all the events. Amos commented, “ACE was a consistent force at all of the events, as they had members attend all 15 of the events. Not only did they attend the events, they often secured the top fundraiser and top team fundraiser spots.”
A huge thank you to David Lipnicky, Coasting for Kids liaison for ACE, and Steven Amos, director of development at Give Kids The World, for their dedication to making this fundraiser an amazing success!
— Elizabeth Ringas
ACE Communications Director
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