The Wheat Ridge Board Factory is proud to partner with Board Pusher, one of the country's leading custom skateboard deck manufacturers and a company that has built its reputation on putting high quality boards into the hands of riders and artists around the world. As part of their manufacturing process, Board Pusher inevitably produces what the industry calls dead boards — decks that didn't pass inspection for custom graphic printing, leaving them blank and unable to be sold through their standard channels. Rather than let those boards collect dust, Board Pusher proudly donates them to the Wheat Ridge Board Factory's Dumpster Divers program, turning an industry byproduct into a community resource.

Through Dumpster Divers, we distribute these donated decks free of charge to local elementary and middle school art programs, where students get to do something pretty extraordinary with them. A blank skateboard deck is one of the most naturally compelling canvases a kid can get their hands on, shaped by the culture of the streets and the mountain and designed to move. Students transform them into original works of art, and here's the best part: because many of these boards are completely ridable despite not passing the printing inspection, kids can actually take their finished creations out for a spin when the paint dries.

If you are an art teacher, program coordinator, or community member who knows of an art program in the Wheat Ridge area that would love to get a set of decks into students' hands, we want to hear from you. Pass this along, make the connection, and let's make something together.