Every year, Cascade Sports Car Club hosts a race weekend to raise money for the Doernbecher's Children's Hospital, called the Doernbecher Dash. Some of the kids come down from the hospital and get to have rides in the race cars during some lunch parade laps. Regular folk can make a donation to get a ride of their own.
The local exotic marque clubs join in as well since there cars are typically easier to get in and out of, they are also more recognizable to the kids (face it, many kids would rather go for a ride in a Ferrari or Lamborghini than a quasi-ratty IT car)
The very first ChumpCar race ever held was at Portland over halloween and the participants filled the 20' trailer with school supplies and other things the kids at a local transitional school needed. They also brought a bus load of kids down to see the cars and to trick or treat with the teams before the race started, most of the kids got to sit in the cars and have their pictures taken. These kids don't have homes or don't have a stable home life, which is why they go to this school, so to let them forget about that for a day and hang out with a bunch of grease monkey's in cheap race cars and silly themes... well, someone was running around tossing cut onions everywhere.
aussiesmg wrote:
sniff, damned allergies..
great stuff
Me too. Must be something in the air.
Some of you guys need to get out more.
Here's a story....
A few years ago, I get a call asking if this guy's sick son can do an autocross. Of course, as long as he has a license. Day comes, he's much sicker than I thought- cancer. Dad apologizes, thinking that I didn't know. He bought his son a red CRX, and wanted to go racing with it. I have no problem letting him run it at all- son goes out, runs safely, and has a ball. very, very cool. We got to know them better, visted a camp called Special Days Camp- a great local place that is for the sick kids AND their siblings- really great family and whatnot.
Anyway, forward a few years, and we are on the track for an Italian Happening day- lunch rolls around, kids come out with the great exotic car owners and have a great time. My wife even drives some around in our GTV. As the lunch is ending, I notice one of our normal track day cars out, absolutely flying- he's out there by himself, and with the sick kid I mention above. Driver is helmeted, kid isn't. I'm pretty mad about it, since it's not exactly safe. But let it go.
This is Labor Day Saturday.
I run into the dad the next weekend at another event. He comes up to me just gushing with thanks. You have no idea how thankful he was that one of our drivers took his son out doing some serious hot laps. Turns out, son was much sicker than all of us thought, but dad knew. The hot laps made him so very, very happy, and content. He passed on Labor Day with a smile on his face. The driving really made him feel good an alive.
Pretty amazing.
So, you guys, get OUT THERE. Help these kids feel better in their limited time they have left. It's worth it. Donating money so they can go to Disney does count. But donating time at a track with the kids is a lot better.
Richard is good on this, but he's not the only driver of a cool car that did this
Pretty sure no one is under that impression.
Some of you guys need to get out more.
Way to make it all about you, man. That's class!
poopshovel wrote:
Richard is good on this, but he's not the only driver of a cool car that did this
Pretty sure no one is under that impression.
Some of you guys need to get out more.
Way to make it all about you, man. That's class!
The suggestion is that you can go out and make a difference too, instead of just reading about it. If you want to read something other than that into what I'm posting, that's your option.
But you can do something. Whatever you want to do. And help kids.
Go for it.
This is unrelated to track days, but related to the Make A Wish foundation. LOTS of the kids in those programs want to come to Orlando and visit one of the area amusement parks.....so many, in fact, that an organization called Give Kids the World was set up by area businesses just to help make it easier for the families' trips to happen.
GKTW provides lodging and food to the families on their trips, and do so in some really cool facilities so the kids can have fun even when they're not at the amusement parks. I'm only mentioning it because the food service depends on volunteers to cook, bus tables, greet families, etc. My Dad was out there volunteering yesterday. (His church group goes there to clean tables one weekend each month.) I've done it a few times, and it always puts a smile on your face.
I'm mentioning it now because this seems like the appropriate thread: alfadriver's idea is great, but a lot of us autocross some fairly mundane cars that would not wow a sick child. Just remember that there are other ways to volunteer and help people associated with the Make A Wish foundation.
