Community Hero by Hillary Handy

Lucy Goodman

In May 2025, Monsignor Lee Catholic School hosted the musical production of The Little Mermaid. It was an incredible, high calibre production that presented as much more sophisticated than the usual you would expect from school-aged children. There were so many talented students involved in the production, but there was one that stole the show. The character of Ursula was next level. She could sing, she could dance, she could act. She could cackle!

Who was this mysterious actress? Well, she is none other than Orillia’s own Lucy Goodman. But Lucy is more than an actress. She’s also a skateboarder. She’s philanthropic. She has a passion for her community. She’s a well-rounded kid with lots of big dreams on the horizon and she’s not even in high school yet. 

Lucy is heading into Grade 8 this year. She lives in Orillia with her mom, dad and brother Henry. She has been skateboarding since 2021 when she found her uncle’s old skateboard in her grandparents’ garage. After giving that a whirl, she connected with the folks at Pocket Skate and Vintage and purchased her own board. She fell in love with the world and culture of skateboarding, eventually going to a competition in Toronto. She comments that this was “the best experience with the coolest and most welcoming kids.”

She had the opportunity to go to Montreal two years ago for the National Street Skating Championship. While there, Lucy attended a “She Can Skate” workshop, designed specifically for young wome,n where she met some female skaters who operate the Tiger Skate Club in Alberta. This sparked an idea, a dream. Lucy carried this dream back to Orillia and presented the concept to the Rainbow Initiative, who was on the search for youth-led programs in the city. Her first taste of grant proposals and probably not her last. Lucy prepared a presentation and was approved for funding to run Orillia’s first youth-led skateboarding club, the Raccoon Skateboard Club. 

Lucy comments, “Skateboarding has given me so much and I wanted to find a way to give back and share that joy with other kids.” This summer, she has been doing that. Every Monday evening at the Orillia Skateboard Park downtown, a group of youth have been meeting and skating. This initiative has also been faithfully supported by Pocket Skate and Vintage, Orillia First Aid, Ride Skate Shop in St. Catharine’s, The Rainbow Initiative, Kiwanis Club and donations from community members. 

This is a chance for kids to connect, hang out, try something new and improve their skills at a sport. It is FREE to attend, and the club keeps on growing! The Raccoon Skateboard Club is working on making their own merch and building some ramps and boxes for beginners to learn tricks. They would happily accept financial contributions to this effort. You may have seen Lucy fundraising this summer at Music and Makers on Friday nights. She is a force to be reckoned with, but where does this passion come from? 

Lucy reports that, “I have always been passionate about helping our community, especially underserved youth and kids. The first time I learned about helping our community was when I had a yard sale and donated the money to The Sharing Place.” This outward, community-minded thinking is a testament to wonderful parenting and a love for this city. It flows into her work with the Raccoon Skateboarding Club. 

Lucy was inspired by another youth in our community, Miles Odlozinski. He is responsible for the Orillia Community Fridge, located outside of St. Paul’s Centre. She has been trying to pair her love of her community with the sport she loves. As such, Lucy has been encouraging her club to help with collecting food items for the Community Fridge. For several weekly sessions, they were able to successfully fully stock the fridge with food donations! Lucy notes, “The skateboarding community is really what makes the sport special, and I wanted to make The Raccoon Skate Club about more than just the sport, I wanted us to really feel like a community.” 

And what a community it is! A cool, fun, welcoming community for our skateboarding youth. For more events and activities with the Raccoon Skateboard Club, follow along on Instagram: @raccoon_skate_club and pop by on Monday nights from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. 

Lucy is wise and clever. She thoughtfully said, “I think it’s important for youth to be involved in their communities because we can connect with other people our age. We have ideas to make our world a better place and with the right support, we can make big changes now, we don’t have to wait to be adults.” 

Big changes from young people. This is something we can get behind! 

For your willingness to be bold and brave, make changes in our community, and offer opportunities for youth while having fun, we would like to recognize Lucy Goodman as this issue’s Community Hero! 

Do you know someone pretty great? Send a nomination for our next Community Hero- info@northsimcoe.life.