Friends of Fort Dupont Ice Arena (FFDIA) is a nonprofit organization established in 1996 to rescue the Fort Dupont Ice Rink in Southeast Washington, DC from closure by the National Park Service. FFDIA revitalized the arena and now operates the facility, providing a traditionally underserved neighborhood with a state of the art ice rink, recreational and cultural activities, skating instruction, a center for community events, and regular physical education programming for District schools. We are the only public indoor ice arena located in Washington, DC and the only skating facility in the region that provides free skating programs to disadvantaged children. Our mission is to provide increased opportunity, education and inspiration to young people in Washington, DC and the surrounding area through ice skating and educational activities. The majority of these children are considered disadvantaged, residing in or attending schools in Wards 7 and 8. When FFDIA was founded, Kids On Ice