Patron in the City: Takina Pollock Shafer, Founder of Skateport

We believe that passionate individuals can spur change in their communities. We refer to those individuals as Patrons in the City, dedicating their time, sweat, and tears to building vibrant communities.

Skateport in Bridgeport, Connecticut, is bringing the community together to celebrate the return of roller skating, but Skateport's vision for the community goes beyond smooth moves and music. Skateport is on a mission to spread the joy.

The group began hosting roller skating meetups in 2021 and has evolved into a roller skating events and lessons service, serving adults and children alike. During the pandemic, roller skating satisfied a need to be active, get outside, take a mental break, practice social distancing, and have fun. With no traditional roller skating rinks in the county, Skateport became a landing place for all the energy returning to the sport, art, and culture of roller skating. Since its founding, Skateport has attracted thousands of skaters and showcased the power of sustainable, community-led development.

In 2023, the group turned to crowdfunding to build a large, 500-square-foot pollinator garden, create public art, and engage the community at its headquarters. The campaign raised $4,750 from 87 patrons. By successfully reaching its crowdfunding goal, the group unlocked a matching grant from Sustainable CT’s Community Match Fund.

In addition, Sustainable CT covered all crowdfunding and credit card processing fees for the project as part of its Social Change Amplifier Fund, which supports projects led by Black, Latinx, Multiracial, Indigenous, and other People of Color (POC) community organizers and organizations. The Social Change Amplifier Fund allows all crowdfunded funds to go directly to the community organizers, supporting leaders and communities frequently underrepresented in the funding landscape.

We recently spoke with Takina Pollock Shafer, founder of Skateport, to learn more about the project and her passion for building community.

Patronicity: We’d love to get to know your community! Why do you love where you live and work?

Takina: I'm originally from Bridgeport. I think that's why I have such a soft spot for this place. The city’s been through a lot of different things, so I think it's just nice to give back and be part of that light and new energy that's coming into the city, and I think just being a good example for people. Especially being from here, too, it's like, we don't really need anybody to come in and save us. We can just pick up some flowers and some shovels and do it ourselves.

Patronicity: That's awesome. Could you talk a little bit about what Skateport is and your crowdfunding campaign.

Takina: Skateport started in 2021, and it started out as a roller skating meetup. It got really popular, really fast, and people were interested in rental skates, especially kids walking by, like, ‘Mommy, I want to skate, too.’

We were able to make that happen, and the city allowed us to place a shipping container downtown. It involved a lot of concrete in an already urban center because we're downtown in Bridgeport, but it was also on a grassy lot, so we could plant some flowers and kind of offset the impact of all the concrete that we just put out here. So, it was a nice way to beautify the area functionally.

We have so many bees now. The birds are excited. There are dragonflies. There are just so many little ecosystems that this helped.

Patronicity: That's so incredible! We love how multifaceted this project is, bringing together the community with skates, public art, and the pollinator garden. So, how did the idea come together for all those things–the public art component and the pollinator garden?

Takina: A lot of it was timing. The city was already working on a mural project. The street originally wasn't a site that they were even looking at. It was just somewhere where we were. So, we were kind of the inspiration for that happening. So, that was exciting getting to be a part of the creation of that mural.

So, yeah, a lot of it was just timing. Right place, right time, I guess. I think just being out there and being so visible, too–doing something in the middle of downtown. You have a hundred people on roller skates, and people are going to pay attention and kind of figure out what's out there.

I also have my master's in global development and peace. So, I think a lot of that influenced the way that I think about Skateport–how do you balance the economic piece, with the human piece, with the environmental piece? That definitely played a role in how I approach everything I do with Skateport, too.

Patronicity: Were there any specific challenges working within the public space to make this happen? It sounds like you've been working with the city for a long time. Have there been any challenges in community engagement and collaboration there?

Takina: Community engagement–no. People love it. And the people love it, so the city loves it.

I do a lot of other things in Bridgeport and have been working in the city for probably ten years now. I’m the director of the Bridgeport Farmers Market Collaborative, too.

I think it being organic and being run by somebody who is from the city really influenced the way that I moved with Skateport. Just understanding where I am, the challenges that already exist, and making it hard to say no.

We're going to plant this garden. All we need you to do is say yes. You don't have to do anything. You don't have to give us any money. All you have to do is say yes.

So, just making it easy, making it fun for people, and it's something that people have been really excited about. We're in our third season, so literally laying roots with the garden was really exciting to just give back to the space.

Patronicity: It’s amazing what you're doing. As far as the results of your crowdfunding campaign, how has the project changed your community? Obviously, it's continuing and growing!

Takina: The garden has been beautiful. I think just seeing it in its first season has been exciting for me. It's been exciting for people who just walk by. It's been just a really nice visual reminder of what's possible.

Part two of the garden is really exciting. That just sort of happened organically–I didn't even have to do anything this time. The city was like, ‘Okay, we loved it. Just give us your garden plans and we want to do another one.’

So, we're getting more volunteers out there. I think people appreciate the opportunity to feel like they're doing something, something that's not just going to meetings–going to meetings is important–but I think being able to get outside with your neighbors and meet people in this sort of way is just a special experience. I think that’s one of the things we really lost, especially in COVID, and has had a hard time rebounding.

Skateport has been a site for people to just remember what it's like to be together again. For kids, adults, and everybody to just sort of be together in the same space. And, just enjoy that.

It's been exciting to be the site of that and for the garden to be something that we all did together. It was Skateport, and it was so many other organizations that were part of this, too, and made this possible. From loaning shovels, to bringing us people, sharing volunteers, bringing us food–those volunteers always need food. It's just great to be in such a collaborative effort for something that's so unique and has never been done in Bridgeport before. It’s exciting.

Patronicity: It sounds like the response has been overwhelmingly positive! How has the community responded?

Takina: People take really good care of the space, which is nice, and I think is surprising, I mean, just being downtown, you’re gonna have trash and stuff that sort of blows around. But just seeing people, you know, picking up litter is a little touching. Sometimes, people will weed the garden here and there.

I think the challenge has probably been just upkeep–500 square feet of garden is a lot! And we’re about to have 1,300. So, that's been challenging but exciting. And I think people are happy to help, and whenever we've asked for help, we've gotten it. So that's been really nice.

Patronicity: What do you hope the community takes away from the project?

Takina: Just try stuff. I think so many times people are just like, "How did you do this?" I just, you know–I tried. I just kept talking to people. I kept talking about about it. I was like, Does this sound crazy? Does it sound possible? And yeah, just if you make it easy for people to say yes or to get excited about what you're doing, I think don't get discouraged easily because everything's not going to be like, “Yes, that's perfect, we love it.” At least not right away. But I think just be willing to do the work to figure it out and to collaborate with other people. You do not have to do it all by yourself, and most of the time, you can't. So yeah, know your people and be ready to get your hands dirty because there's a lot of work to be done.

Patronicity: What advice would you give to somebody that's interested in getting involved in their community?

Takina: Collaborate. Don't reinvent the wheel. Share space and figure it out. You might just find a lot of unlikely connections. I think that's the interesting thing about Skateport, and roller skating in general, you just make connections between a lot of seemingly disconnected things. I was surprised how many people were roller skaters and also gardeners and also farmers. So there's a connectivity there, so I think just be willing to work with other people. Be a good teammate.

Patronicity: How did Sustainable CT’s matching dollars support the project and further its impact on the community? What difference did it make to have access to those matching funds?

Takina: It made a huge difference. It made it so that we could offer a free event to everyone while we were doing the planting. It paid for the plants and fed the volunteers, and it's had a lasting impact. We’re doing round two, planting an additional 800 square feet, so it’s had a really incredible lasting impact, and I'm excited to see what's next.

In addition, Takina emphasized that none of this work would be possible without the support of many partner organizations and volunteers, including the Bridgeport Downtown Special Services District, Aspetuck Land Trust, Native Plant Nursery, Groundwork Bridgeport, and so many more.

Take Action

We’re inspired by Takina’s dedication to creating community and building a more sustainable Bridgeport. Use this inspiration as a spark to create change in your community!

Are you in Connecticut and have an idea to make your Connecticut community more equitable, sustainable, and vibrant? Contact Sustainable CT at funding@sustainablect.org to share your great idea and start crowdfunding your vision. Whether you’re dreaming of more green spaces, solar for public spaces, greenways for biking and walking, murals and other public art, green jobs programs, or community gardens, Sustainable CT’s Community Match Fund can help make your great idea a reality by providing fast, flexible funding and support for sustainability projects that engage your Connecticut community. Learn more at www.patronicity.com/sustainablect.