Christine Cheesman is a homeschool mom, an art teacher and a new figure skater. Despite all those roles, she has decided to take on another: Skates of Hope founder.
Cheesman, who lives in North Carolina, was at an ice skating rink when she learned what happened to American Airlines Flight 5342 when it collided with a U.S. Army helicopter in the evening hours of Jan. 29 in Washington, D.C., killing all 67 onboard when the two aircraft plunged into the Potomac River.
Twenty-eight of the victims from flight 5342 were “members of the figure skating community,” the Olympics website states. Eleven were young athletes, four were coaches and 13 were family members.
“As a mom, it took my breath away,” she said about learning of the plane crash. “Even now, thinking about it, it’s really difficult to try to understand what the parents are feeling and the families that have lost everything.”
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Cheesman’s 12-year-old daughter became hooked on figure skating following a school field trip, and the mom hits the ice, as well.
“Being on the ice, it’s freedom,” she said. “It’s beautiful. Each day I get on the ice after this tragedy, it just has like a renewed sense of purpose for me and for my daughter, as well.”
“I think it’s difficult for her to understand,” Cheesman said. “I mean, these are people that she looked up to online and followed their Instagram stories.”
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Skates of Hope gifts skates in honor of those lost on flight 5342. Cheesman uses Instagram to help her take in the donations before sending them out to skaters in need.
“The skaters who are receiving the skates are just so grateful,” she said, adding that coaches are reaching out to her to bless athletes who have fallen on hard times by motivating them with a free pair of skates.
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Cheesman’s goal is to make Skates of Hope a nonprofit organization, and any monetary donations that come in would be able to go to the families who lost loved ones in the D.C. plane crash.
Anyone who wishes to donate skates or be the recipient of a pair should reach out to her via Instagram.
The D.C. plane crash was the deadliest in the U.S. since Nov. 12, 2001, when a jet slammed into a New York City neighborhood just after takeoff, killing all 260 people on board and five on the ground.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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