20 年来，The NASCAR Foundation 一直在回馈那些在全美各地支持这项运动的人们和社区。该非营利组织于 2006 年在 France 家族的领导下成立，France 家族创立并至今仍运营着 NASCAR，其使命一直聚焦于儿童健康与福祉。为纪念成立 20 周年，该组织正准备在纽约市举办一场为期两天的庆祝活动，重点是继续把这种影响力延伸到全国各地的社区。

NASCAR 的 Kaulig Racing 车主 Matt Kaulig 多年来一直通过自己的慈善部门 Kaulig Giving 与 The NASCAR Foundation 合作。Kaulig 通过创立家居改造公司 LeafFilter 积累了财富，并于 2016 年创办车队，随后将其发展为拥有多辆赛车的 Cup Series 车队。在接受 Fox Business 采访时，他谈到了基金会在 "Big Apple" 纽约即将展开的安排，其中包括一场兼具意义与趣味的 Honors Gala。

"We live in Ohio. To get into the city, get dressed up, be at a gala, red carpet. To go in there with a bunch of media, and again, ultimately raising a couple million of dollars for these kids is pretty exciting," Kaulig 说着，脸上带着灿烂的笑容。

"It’s just a celebration of all the giving and still even trying to raise money. I'm sure this gala will raise – I think their goal is to raise over $2 million to give back to kids, the communities and everything else."

这场晚会将于 Sept. 8 在 Ziegfeld Ballroom 举行，由 NASCAR 的 France family 以及包括 Kaulig Racing 在内的领导层赞助方共同主办。当天晚上的嘉宾包括现役 NASCAR 车手 Joey Logano、Ross Chastain，以及 Kaulig Racing 的 AJ Allmendinger 和 Ty Dillon；Emmy 和 Tony Award 获奖女演员兼歌手 Kristin Chenoweth 也将带来特别表演。

KAULIG RACING EXCITED TO WORK WITH NASCAR FOUNDATION AGAIN TO GIFT BIKES TO KIDS AHEAD OF DAYTONA 500

The NASCAR Foundation 还将表彰第 16 届 Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award 的四位入围者。该奖项旨在表彰那些在各自地区为儿童相关公益事业志愿奉献的 NASCAR 粉丝。获奖者将在晚会结束时公布，并将获得该非营利组织提供的 $100,000 捐款，以继续推进其慈善工作。

不过，Kaulig 期待的并不只有晚会——他同样期待次日举行、由 Kaulig Giving 推动的 The Speedy Bear Brigade 活动。

The NASCAR Foundation 与 Kaulig Giving 已合作向位于 NYU Langone 的 Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital 的儿童送去 NASCAR 主题的 "Speedy Bears"。而这一影响并不只会发生在纽约市：全美创纪录的 157 家医院将收到 6,000 只 Speedy Bears，这些泰迪熊附带充满爱与支持的信息，送给那些正与疾病、伤病等困难抗争的儿童及其家庭。

Kaulig 还承诺为希望将更多 Speedy Bears 送到孩子手中的捐款进行配对，最高匹配金额为 $25,000，以提供更多一点的安慰与支持。

"For even NASCAR drivers to go into their room in their fire suits and getting a teddy bear, it just brightens their day and brightens their spirit. All of that makes a difference," Kaulig 解释说。"I mean, I guarantee these kids have their Speedy Bears still in their rooms at home after they get out of the hospital. They remember that, and it’s such a cool thing."

对 Kaulig 来说，他所做的大部分公益都集中在自己位于 Northeast Ohio 的家乡地区。但在 2016 年开设 Kaulig Racing 业务后加入 The NASCAR Foundation，对他而言是顺理成章的决定。

"That’s why we’re so involved in the NASCAR Foundation. We love NASCAR," 他说。"We think it’s a great fit for us, our brand, but everything we do at Kaulig Giving is for kids and their direct families. Almost all of our giving is up here in Northeast Ohio. Everything we do is basically in Cleveland, but NASCAR Foundation is obviously nationwide.

"What The NASCAR Foundation does for the community, the racetracks and everywhere we race is really special and I’m really proud of them. …They do so much more for the community than people realize. It’s so cool to be involved."

除了 The Speedy Bear Brigade，Kaulig Giving 还深度参与了 The NASCAR Foundation 的 Speediatrics Fun Day Festivals。在这些活动中，原本属于比赛周的热情变成了真正惠及弱势儿童的时刻。活动覆盖 16 个 NASCAR 社区、分布在不同赛道，孩子们会收到由 Kaulig Racing 等车队现场组装的自行车，同时还会获得头盔和运动鞋。

"We built 150 bikes, gave them to these kids, and they didn’t know they were getting them," Kaulig 谈到 Daytona 首次 Fun Day Festival 时说。"It’s a big surprise. Fitted them with bicycle helmets, gave them new sneakers, and it’s just a really cool thing The NASCAR Foundation does."

虽然这将是 The NASCAR Foundation 的一场为期两天的庆祝活动，用以认可过去二十年所产生的全部影响，但 Kaulig 强调，这个非营利组织要持续成长，并尽可能吸引更多人参与，以延续其使命与影响力，这一点非常重要。

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"Even in business, you’ve got to continue to grow. You can’t cut back. We as a race team continue to grow. So, even philanthropy-wise, with The NASCAR Foundation, it’s what we can do to help them grow," 他说。"So, it is fantastic to be a part of organizations that are growing.

"And you just want to be a positive role model. We want to show other teams in the garage that you should get involved. We do well; we make money; we get all the fame and acclaim and just the fun part of it. But we should give back to those communities that are supporting our sport, our industry, and ultimately, our teams."