SKOWHEGAN – Their goals were modest when they set out to ride longboard skateboards 150 miles down the Maine coast last month to raise money for breast cancer research.
Connor Reeves, Jacob Weese and Ethan Johnson, all 17 and from Skowhegan, launched their Boarding for Boobies campaign hoping to raise $1,000.
They had that much in donations before they even started.
As they prepared to cut a final check for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation this week, the boarding teens had raised about $4,000.
“After the trip we had a day when we rolled all the quarters from the tubs around town,” Johnson said. “We rolled all our quarters and counted all our checks that were sent to the house during the trip and we had just under $4,000 and checks were still rolling in — just from people stopping on the side of the road was over $500 in cash and checks.”
The teens said they had planned a summer skateboarding trip and when Weese’s mother suggested they do something for a cause, they chose breast cancer. Weese’s aunt, Carla Tibbets of Dexter, is a breast cancer survivor.
In addition to accepting donations during and after the four-day trip, they also continue to sell Boarding for Boobies bracelets for $5 and bumper stickers for $2.
Reeves will be a senior at Fryeburg Academy, where he transferred to concentrate on music and drama studies. Weese is a standout in track and field at Skowhegan Area High School and also plays football. Johnson is quarterback of the Skowhegan football team, captain of the basketball team and president of the school’s National Honor Society.
All three plan to attend college after high school.
With football season upon them and the school year looming, the boys said they will set aside Boarding for Boobies for now.
But there will be next year, Weese and Johnson said. One idea is to longboard from Old Orchard Beach, where this year’s trek ended, another 150 miles south.
They might even incorporate, they said — Boarding for Boobies Inc.
Morning Sentinel Staff Writer Doug Harlow can be contacted at 612-2367 or at:
dharlow@centralmaine.com
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