A newly launched fifth year of the ‘Learn to Skate’ partnership between the Refugee Women’s Alliance and the Kraken’s One Roof Foundation philanthropic arm continues to provide wide ranging lessons for preschoolers and their families.
ByGeoff Baker / @geoffbakernhl / nhl.com/kraken
October 15, 2025
South Seattle resident Ellen Lackermann is now watching her second grandchild learn how to skate at the Kraken Community Iceplex and realizes the importance of it extends far beyond the ice.
“The great thing about skating is you learn that when you fall down, you get up,” she said. “Fall down, you get up. What a great life lesson.”
And to ensure other children keep learning such lessons, Lackermann serves as a volunteer chaperone for the Refugee Women’s Alliance (ReWA) “Learn to Skate” program hosted at the Iceplex by the Kraken and their One Roof Foundation (ORF) philanthropic arm. The program’s fifth year of weekly classes, spread across 32 weeks, began Oct. 8 with a record 110 pupils – among them Lackermann’s grandson, Abe, 4, which is up from the 80 kids who previously participated in each of the first four annual sessions.