These Pierce County skate parks are about the grub for 600 kids a week. Here’s why
The parking lot near Sumner’s skate park is a major hotspot for students after school on certain days of the week. It’s not because of the skate park.
It’s because of Joann Wittler and her crew.
Wittler is the founder of a nonprofit organization called Mother 2 Many. This organization focuses on youths by hanging out at skate parks in East Pierce County and giving them fruits, other snacks, treats and drinks after school.
LaTrell Milton, a senior at Sumner High School, is one of the many students who frequents the skate park because of the organization. He said he’s been getting goodies from the nonprofit for about 10 years now.
“It’s very cool to me that they’re helping other communities and being great people,” Milton said.
The organization visits different skate parks every day. Wittler and her crew of volunteers frequent the skate parks in Sumner, Puyallup, Bonney Lake, Buckley and Yelm. They usually set up shop in the early afternoon and stay for about an hour.
On April 13, Wittler and her crew placed fold-out tables near their 16-foot trailer. Bins filled with food such as clementines, granola bars and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches sat on the tables. At the end of the row Wittler’s husband, Steve, was grilling hot dogs.
The organization is faith-based. Many years ago, Wittler realized she wanted to help youths who may be experiencing homelessness. A friend suggested visiting skate parks with food and water, so she did.
The organization sees almost 400 students at Sumner’s skate park per week, Wittler said. They saw over 190 students on April 6 and saw about 170 students on April 13. A total of almost 600 students see the organization per week across East Pierce County, she said.
When schools were closed to in-person learning in 2020-21, the organization carried on. Wittler said they helped prepare goodie bags for the White River School District as well as the Bethel School District.
“You can let anything stop you if you choose to, but I just found other ways to feed kids,” Wittler said.
Wittler said they still visited the skate parks during the pandemic, but they did not see a lot of students. They saw an average of 80 students per week at Sumner’s skate park in 2020. The following year, they saw an average of about 100 students per week at the same skate park.
‘They need to know that we’re here’
Wittler said the organization is planning to start hanging out at the skate parks in Orting and Eatonville this summer. They have not been to Orting yet, but they have been to Eatonville in the past, she said.
Aside from visiting skate parks, the organization also helps put together goodie bags for groups such as the Yelm Boys and Girls Club, The Haven Teen Center in Orting as well as the Buckley Youth Activity Center.
During the wintertime, the organization also hands out coats, gloves, hats and some toiletries in addition to the food they already offer.
The organization gets its supplies from local groups such as the Puyallup Food Bank, Sumner Food Bank as well as people who choose to donate items they may not need anymore. The organization has about 10 volunteers.
Barbara Farnsworth, one of the volunteers, has been dedicating her time to the organization for about five years now.
“I just like to help people,” Farnsworth said. “The kids … are our future. If they don’t think anyone cares, what’s going to happen? They need to know that we’re here.”
Mother 2 Many started in January 2013. Wittler and her crew started hanging out at parks in December 2014. Those looking to visit the organization can find the schedule online at mother2many.org/home.html or on the group’s Facebook page.
This story was originally published April 17, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
