This amazing humanitarian foundation raised $1.6 million and awarded Andy Hoffman the prestigious Betty Jane France Humanitarian award.
The NASCAR Foundation has been helping children around the country for over ten years, but this year marks their inaugural honors gala. For the past six years, the foundation has been highlighting one special individual a year who makes a real difference in the life of a sick or hospitalized child. However, for this year, that winner, along with their fellow nominees, rightfully got the chance to be honored in a night that featured a great dinner, a charity auction, and even a performance by Sara Bareilles. While all the nominees were awarded $25,000, Andy Hoffman walked away with the Humanitarian award and $100,000 for his work raising over 3 million dollars to help cure pediatric cancer.
We got to speak with the chairman of NASCAR Brian France about the foundation, the event, and how emotional it might be. “It’s a big deal. It’s the tenth anniversary of the foundation here in New York. We’re raised more money than we’ve ever raised in a single function. [Betty Jane France] would have been real proud of that… It’ll be an emotional night for sure, but I’ll rest easy knowing we’re doing the things she would want us to do. It’ll be a special night.” He was certainly right. Any event that raises $1.6 million for charity is a special night for sure.
Krista Voda summed up the event properly when she said “It showcases all that’s good in the sport, but also all that’s good in the world. So much of our focus is on all the bad that’s happening and then you meet these four individuals and I’ve been honored to be a part of this since it’s inception and you meet the four individuals each year and you leave feeling rejuvenated.”
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