NASCAR teams up with Autism Speaks at The Met
March 13, 2013
Staff Report
NASCAR Wire Service
Tuesday night's aptly coined "Speeding for a Cure" event -- a charitable endeavor between NASCAR and Autism Speaks -- raised
$1.2 million dollars for children and families affected by autism.
Held
at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, NASCAR Chairman and CEO
Brian France and his wife Amy co-chaired the annual
event with a distinctly NASCAR flare, benefitting Autism Speaks and The
Gillen Brewer School, a school dedicated to helping children with
special needs.
"In
our lifetime, we have a responsibility to be a part of something beyond
our own self-interests for the betterment of society and the world,"
said Amy France during last night’s event. Brian and Amy announced a
special donation of $250,000 on behalf of the Luke and Meadow France
Foundation, established in 2010 in honor of their children.
Hosted
by ESPN personality Mike Tirico, the event featured a NASCAR-heavy
guest list that included defending NASCAR Sprint Cup
Series champion Brad Keselowski, Michael Waltrip, Matt Kenseth, Kurt
Busch, Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, Martin Truex Jr., Parker
Kligerman, Kyle Larson, Nelson Piquet Jr., Brad Sweet and NASCAR Hall of
Famer Bobby Allison.
The gala marked Autism Speaks and The Gillen Brewer School’s fifth partnership with a professional sports league for the annual
event. Previous partners included MLB in 2012, NHL in 2011, NBA in 2010, and NFL from 2006 to 2009.
Last
night’s event was the most recent example of the ongoing relationship
between NASCAR and Autism Speaks. The spring race
at Dover International Speedway has benefitted Autism Speaks each
season since 2007, with the Autism Speaks puzzle piece gracing the hood
of Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota in the 2012 edition.
Joining
Brian and Amy France as co-chairs of the event were Autism Speaks
Co-Founders Suzanne and Bob Wright, Mel Karmazin, Chairman
Emeritus at Gillen Brewer Henry Schacht; former NFL Commissioner Paul
Tagliabue; and Honorary Co-chair and last year’s winner of the annual
Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award Lorri Unumb, Vice President, State
Government Affairs, Autism Speaks.
"NASCAR
has had a consistent connection to autism, not only through our race in
Dover but also through our industry members and drivers who have
related children affected by the disorder and through support from The
NASCAR Foundation," Brian France stated at the event.
With
one in every 88 children in the U.S. diagnosed with autism,
organizations like Autism Speaks, The Gillen Brewer School and NASCAR
hope that
by collaborating together they can make the world a little better for
those children and their families that are affected by Autism.
2 comments:
Good for Brian and Amy! Who else out there is donating a quarter of a million dollars to autism and their own kids are happy and healthy?!!?
good for brian and amy! who else out there is donating a quarter of a mil when their own kids are happy and healthy like they are doing?
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