Harlem Figure Skaters Glide Off With $75K Grant

HARLEM, NY — A troupe of Harlem figure skaters are gliding into summer with a $75,000 grant from a national sporting goods chain.

The beloved Figure Skating in Harlem received this week a grant from DICKS’S Sporting Good’s in honor of the store's 75th anniversary.

Dick's is proving 75 youth sport programs with $75,000, and among them, Figure Skating in Harlem.

The program, launched in 1997, teaches Harlem girls how to figure skate, but also provides homework help and tutoring. Skaters must keep up a B average to skate with the group.

Find out how to apply here.

Assistant Director Ila Epperson began as a skater with the program in 2008 when she was 5 years old, has since graduated high school and spent a season coaching an incoming class.

“The biggest things I was able to take away from Figure Skating in Harlem were my voice and my ability to operate throughout this world and feel grounded in myself,” Epperson said.

“So, when I teach the kids, my number one thing is for them to feel grounded within themselves and feel like a leader.”

Figure Skating in Harlem initially asked for a $25,000 grant, but The DICK'S Foundation ultimately decided to triple the ask.

“We knew that they’d be a great candidate for 75for75,” said Becky Petro, Manager of Charitable Giving.

Petro delivered news of the grant in March, when the team was about to begin practice and had just laced up their skates.

A coach read the announcement aloud.

“She read the letter in front of the girls," Petro said. "And they all screamed and chanted ‘75!’”