by Joanne Vassallo Jamrosz, special to U.S. Figure Skating Online

Ellie Kuivila will bring donations to Haiti with her church's mission team "Hearts for Haiti." (Photo by Janet Kuivila)

When Ellie Kuivila found out that the theme of the Cleveland Skating Club's spring ice show was "The Gifts," the 16-year-old intermediate skater from Chagrin Falls, Ohio, got an idea: use the occasion to collect "gifts" for victims of the January earthquake in Haiti.

Each number in the show represented a different gift such as "Healing," "Laughter" and "Rhythm." Kuivila placed donation boxes at six area rinks in the month leading up to the show for the "Gift of Smile" (skated by the club's 2-year-olds to "Put on a Happy Face") and collected toothbrushes and toothpaste to send to those affected by the disaster. So began Kuivila's project "Skaters for Haiti."

"The response has been great," Kuivila said. "I called several local ice rinks to see if they were interested in supporting the drive, and each rink was really enthusiastic to the idea of having a drop-off box at its rink. The boxes were covered in silver paper with pink ribbons to match the logo for the show."

Besides the Cleveland Skating Club, "Skaters for Haiti" collection boxes are also located at the Thornton Ice Arena in Shaker Heights, The Pond in Auburn, Gilmour Ice Arena in Gates Mills and the Pavilion Skating Club in Cleveland Heights. This month, Kuivila is changing donations to the "Gifts of Healing" and collecting bandages and vitamins.

Volunteering is something near and dear to Kuivila's heart.

"I have always liked doing community work," said Kuivila, who skates on her club's synchronized team, Ice Reflections, and took part in the opening ceremonies at the 2009 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. "When I heard about the devastation in Haiti, I thought tying in two things I love - skating and community work - would be wonderful."

Her past projects include volunteering at nursing homes and food drives, planting trees and helping out at Chagrin Metro Parks.

She also came up with an event last year called "Skate for Hunger," a drive that benefited the Cleveland Food Bank. "People brought in a variety of canned and boxed goods," Kuivil said. "We collected thousands of donations."

Ellie Kuivila performs a cannonball spin. (Photo by Janet Kuivila)

Kuivila is most impressed with the support she received from the community during "Skaters for Haiti." In addition to the donations from individuals, she has received items such as toothbrushes from local dentist Dr. Jane Silk, bandages from the Cleveland Clinic and travel shampoo from Aquage.

"The best part of this project is the response I have gotten from the community and also working with some amazing people who have helped greatly in the process," Kuivila said. "The skating world is close knit and very enthusiastic. The boys and girls who skate in Cleveland are all so down to earth and willing to help. I knew working with them would be fun and effective."


In November, Kuivila will take her collected donations and travel to Haiti with her church's mission team "Hearts for Haiti." Among the services they will provide are teaching the children good oral hygiene and assisting Haitians in building houses.

"I cannot wait," Kuivila said. "Members on the team who have visited there before have said it is very emotional to go down there, but it is completely worth it and truly is a life-changing trip."

Kuivila does not plan on stopping anytime soon. She wants to start a new kind of relief drive each year.

"Both my drives have been very successful, and I hope that my ideas in the future will continue to be a great help to the community."

Those interested in learning more about Kuivila's project can visit her website at www.skatersforhaiti.com.