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Breaking the Ice, Friends of Fort Dupont Ice Arena
www.fdia.org

Tucked away in a quiet neighborhood east of Washington, DC's Anacostia River, the concrete walls and forested surroundings of the Fort Dupont Ice Arena (FDIA) camouflage the activity inside. But as Kristin Hartke enters with her daughter, Maddie, the exterior gives way to a flurry of lacing skates, fastening helmets, and greeting neighbors.

FDIA is the only indoor skating rink in the District of Columbia. Its steward, the nonprofit Friends of Fort Dupont Ice Arena, has transformed the once-dilapidated National Park Service facility into a vibrant recreation and community-building center. For many families like the Hartkes, FDIA is a home away from home and a place to learn teamwork, pride, and cultural understanding. The nonprofit teaches young residents of the District the importance of community in a city whose neighborhoods oftentimes are fragmented. It also connects families, which Hartke says keeps her coming back.

"Maddie's peers come from all across the District," Hartke says. "I would never have expected to find that sense of community at a skating rink, but FDIA is a unique place."

That's because FDIA is more than an ice arena, Executive Director Kathy Cox says. Personal and relationship development are central to Friends of Fort Dupont Ice Arena's programs, which include speed and figure skating, ice hockey and off-the-ice education. "Skating is a means for us to facilitate health, safety, cooperation, and learning among District youth," Cox says.

Even some of the arena's closest neighbors are surprised to learn what a wide array of programs the nonprofit Friends of Fort Dupont Ice Arena offers. The arena houses a classroom and computer lab used for after-school education. The nonprofit also works with DC Public Schools to provide physical fitness and wellness programs at the rink during in-school hours. These programs earned the nonprofit a "Safe Place" designation from America's Promise, the Alliance for Youth in 2001.

"We base our programs on national skating and physical fitness curricula, learning and community development goals, and safe recreation," Cox says, a stalwart community champion with a flair for nonprofit leadership. "Building a tremendous sense of community and a vital support network for our families is crucial for our success," Cox says.

Hartke is proud to be part of that network. "Becoming an FDIA family inducted us into a new community with many new friends from many diverse DC neighborhoods," she says, noting Maddie has grown close with her fellow skaters. The values FDIA teaches Maddie and her peers are critical, Hartke adds. "We need our young people to be connected, open-minded, and respectful of differences if we want our city to grow."

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