A professional skater followed through on his promise to help a friend he met on the pro circuit by helping the family with renovations to their Wilmington home that were recently unveiled.
Throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s professional skaters Tony Hawk and Ray Underhill were best friends in their late teens and early twenties. In fact, Hawk was present the night that Underhill met the love of his life, Kerry, and said it was a moment that he will never forget. Hawk is the godfather to Keaton and Olivia Underhill and remains very involved with the family, who lives in Wilmington.
As the two friends began the next chapter of their lives, Underhill was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. After going through many rounds of treatment, Underhill passed away in 2008.
“When Ray died, I vowed to help [his family] however I can,” said Hawk in an episode of MyHouzz that was recently released by the home improvement website Houzz.com.
When Kerry remarried, she and her new husband Brad Overman had another child together. As the family continued to grow, Hawk became aware of the need for some improvements that needed to be made to the Overman’s home, so he decided to surprise them with a gift.
Since Hawk lives in San Diego, he enlisted the help of Houzz.com to deliver on his gift. Local businesses Plantation Building Corp. and Sellers Tile Company were brought in as part of the renovation team as well.
“We were very thrilled to be a part of this project with Tony, and even more excited to help out the Overman family,” said Kelly Barnes of Sellers Tile Company.
On August 1st, from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m., The Skate Barn in Hampstead will host ‘Skate 4 Ray.’ This event will cost $5 to skate and donations will be accepted at the door as well. A premiere showing by Firelux Films is included, and several food trucks will also be on hand. All proceeds from the skate and 10 percent of the food truck sales will be benefit the Ray Underhill Foundation.
According to it’s website, The Ray Underhill Foundation is a non-profit organization that raises money to help families that are affected by Chordoma and other cancers, helping to cover expenses that are not paid for by health insurance or government funding.
