Allied Waste Services of Santa Barbara has made a $7,500 donation to the Greater Santa Barbara Ice Skating Association, a community nonprofit organization that is developing a permanent, public ice skating arena at Girsh Park in Goleta.
With the community’s help, the fundraising effort has moved past the $3 million mark and is seeking bidders for its design-build phase. The entire project is estimated to cost about $8 million.
The skating rink — called “Ice in Paradise” — will be the only ice skating facility between Oxnard and San Jose, providing year-round recreation for people of all ages. The complex plan is to have a full-size sheet of ice and also a smaller junior rink.
“We know many people will get a great deal of enjoyment out of the facility.” said Stephen MacIntosh, Allied’s general manager. “Who knows — maybe someone from our own community might become the next Olympic medalist or all-star hockey player. We live here, and we work here, so if we can all pitch in to help the Greater Santa Barbara Ice Skating Association reach their funding goal, we’ll get to skate here, too.”
Those interested in contributing to the GSBISA can contact Ada Conner, capital campaign director, at 805.879.1552 or ada@iceinparadise.com. Click here for more information.
— Daniella Elghanayan is a publicist.