A Lancaster street will soon be transformed into a massive water slide for a one day event called Slide the City. Now, thanks to a Lancaster woman, 500 kids who may not have otherwise gotten a chance, will get to take a ride.
On July 19, 2015 a giant slip and slide will transform the southeast section of Lancaster. With three lanes of awesomeness, those unleashing their inner water luging skills will be gliding down South Broad Street.
"I was just really excited about it," said Lauren Demascola, who was understandably psyched. Except for one small detail: the cost. Tickets start at $15 for a single ride and $50 for an all day pass. As a mother of four Demascola knew that could stop a lot of families in that area from going." Imagine all of the lower income and poverty stricken children in that area that will be seeing this slide," said Demascola. She didn't want to see any kids left out, so she created a go fund me page to raise enough money to send 500 kids down the slide.
Within hours Demascola's page caught the attention of an unlikely donor. The CEO of the Utah-based company stepped in and offered to donate 500 single ride tickets."I hope that these 500 kids have a great time. I'm sure it's not going to be life-changing but if it can change their life for a day then we're happy to be a part of that," said Emerson Hamilton, CEO of the company that runs Slide the City.
The GoFundMe page is still up and money keeps coming in. "So far we are up to $445," said Demascola, who plans to donate any extra funds to the Mix at Arbor Place. The organization helps at risk youth, and is located near where the slide will be set up.
Demascola reached out to Luis Torres, who is the group's Executive Director. He is coordinating with other local agencies and the School District of Lancaster to hand out the 500 tickets to kids who need them." It's great because those are the families that we serve, those are the kids that we serve. so many activities happen in Lancaster that happen away from this area," said Torres."They're going to at least get to go down one time, and there's going to be at least 500 happier kids," said Demascola.
The Mix at Arbor Place has also been selected as the official charity for the Slide the City Lancaster event, meaning if you type in the code: THEMIX2015 when you buy tickets, 15% of that sale will go to the organization and help the children they serve.
More Information:
When: Slide the City will be in Lancaster July 19, 2015
Where: South Broad Street and East King Street
Lancaster, PA 17602
Lancaster, PA 17602
Time: 12 pm to 5 pm with an extra hour from 11 am - 12 pm and 5 pm - 6 pm for VIPs
For more information about Slide the City or to buy tickets click here.
To contribute to Lauren Demascola's GoFundMe page click here.