Tarken Ice Rink Ribboncutting

The community was invited to join the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation and the City of Philadelphia celebrated the grand opening of newly refurbished Tarken Ice Rink in Oxford Circle on Friday, November 9

The event celebrates the culmination of the four city rinks that have been completely reconstructed and fully enclosed making them year-round operational.

This project was made possible by a personal commitment from Ed Snider, contributions from Snider Hockey’s Charter Members, the City of Philadelphia, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As part of the celebration, the community was invited to a free public skating session immediately following the ceremony.

“These facilities used to only be operational from late November through March. We’ve created NHL standard rinks, which now keep these kids off the streets 365 days a year during the out-of-school-time hours when they are most vulnerable to undesirable activities,” said Snider while personally touring the renovation process at Tarken Ice Rink.

The Tarken Ice Rink completes a network of three other fully enclosed renovated rinks: The Laura Sims Skatehouse in West Philadelphia, which re-opened on Nov. 22, 2011; the Scanlon Ice Rink in Kensington on Nov. 29, 2011; and the Simons Rink in West Oak Lane on Dec. 9, 2011.

Each of these rinks includes newly constructed classrooms and learning labs that will now provide over 35,000 hours of quality year-round after school programming for the boys and girls of these inner-city neighborhoods.

Snider Hockey subsequently reached a 20-year agreement with the City and PIDC to extend this partnership through 2030. This agreement was a key component in the Foundation’s decision to make the multi-million dollar investment that will ensure the long-range sustainability of these vital community resources.

The After School program provides boys and girls with valuable supplemental educational services that complement the daily on-ice activities designed to keep students on-track for on-time graduation.

Flyers founder Ed Snider created Snider Hockey in 2005 as a personal commitment to teach children important life lessons.

The mission of the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation is to build lives and unite communities. It uses the sport of hockey to help educate young people to succeed in the game of life. Snider Hockey services are targeted for inner-city boys and girls who otherwise would not have the opportunity to learn to skate or to play ice hockey. The program has rapidly grown to include over 3,000 students.

Visit www.esyhf.org for more information