Fifty-three Sonoma County non-profit organizations will benefit from more than $405,000 in grants that were recently awarded by the Sonoma chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities (SCC), the charitable arm of Sonoma Raceway.
In total, $405,537 was distributed to youth-serving organizations in Sonoma County, bringing the chapter’s total distribution of funds to just over $6 million since 2001. The amount raised this fiscal year marks over $30,000 more than 2016. The chapter’s Board of Trustees recently approved the distribution of 2017 funds at its annual meeting.
SCC’s success was due largely to the 13 SCC fundraising events in 2017, the majority of which are held during the raceway’s major-event weekends, including NASCAR, NHRA and IndyCar. The highlight of the year included the Children’s Champions NASCAR Grand Marshal’s Banquet and its live auction, which combined to raise a record-setting $252,000 during the Toyota/Save Mart 350 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series weekend in June.
The Grand Prix Salute Banquet, held prior to the Grand Prix of Sonoma, generated another $110,000 for the Sonoma chapter and the 11th annual Eric Medlen Nitro Night held the Thursday prior to the Toyota NHRA Sonoma Nationals netted an additional $28,000 for SCC. Great Clips raised nearly $10,000 in donations at its mobile hair salon in the main paddock during NASCAR event weekend.
SCC is also the beneficiary of the Classic Sports Racing Group’s Charity Challenge, which netted $52,000 for Sonoma County non-profits. This brings the group’s donations to SCC to more than $880,000 since 2004.
SCC is also supported by 16 businesses that have signed up as Children’s Champions, including Ahlborn Fence & Steel, Inc., American Asphalt, Beck Communications, Bleyco Inc., Blue Star Gas, CSW/Stuber Stroeh Engineering Group, ESP & Alarm Inc., Falck/verihealth Inc., Kaiser Permanente, Ramekins-Cornerstone Foundation, Monument Security Inc., Pacific Highway Rentals, Pacific Satellite Inc., Pacific Gas & Electric, United Site Services and Verizon.
“It is amazing to receive the SCC grant because it allows us to go out into the community and educate adults and children in Sonoma about the importance of dental health,” said fund development and communications manager at Pediatric Dental Initiative of the North Coast Inc., Hazel Whiteoak.
“What we have found is that until we teach adults and children about prevention education and dental decay, we will still have 2,000 children seeking dental relief. We are beyond grateful for SCC’s donation.”
Speedway Children’s Charities is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising funds for qualified children’s organizations. Founded in 1984 by Bruton Smith, chairman of Speedway Motorsports Inc., SCC originated at Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina and now boasts eight chapters at SMI facilities throughout the country.
The following Sonoma County youth groups will receive funding from Speedway Children’s Charities in 2017: Big Brothers Big Sisters of the North Bay; Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Sonoma County; Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma Valley; California Parenting Institute; Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Santa Rosa; Ceres Community Project; Committee On The Shelterless; Community Action Partnership of Sonoma County; Conservation Corps North Bay; Court Appointed Special Advocates of Sonoma County; DeMeo Teen Club Inc., dba Chop’s Teen Club; Fence at the Top; Forget Me Not Children’s Services; Friends in Sonoma Helping (F.I.S.H.); Girl Scouts of Northern California; Girls on the Run Sonoma County; Habitat for Humanity Sonoma County; Hanna Boys Center; Hope Counseling Services; Individuals NOW Inc. Social Advocates for Youth; Jewish Community Free Clinic; Kid Scoop News; La Luz Center; Legal Aid of Sonoma County; LifeWorks of Sonoma County; Loco Bloco; McDowell Drug Task Force; Mentor Me; North Bay Children’s Center, Inc.; On The Move; Paws As Loving Support Assistance Dogs ; Petaluma People Services Center; Petaluma Policing Foundation; Polly Klaas Foundation; Presbyterian Church of the Roses; Redwood Empire Food Bank; River to Coast Children’s Services; Roseland Charter School; Sonoma County Public Library Foundation; Sonoma Ecology Center; Sonoma Valley Education Foundation; Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance; Sonoma Valley Teen Services (BDA Teen Services Sonoma); Sunny Hills Services; Support Our Students; The LIME Foundation; The Living Room Center, Inc.; The Pediatric Dental Initiative of the North Coast Inc.; The Salvation Army; Verity – Compassion.Safety.Support; West County Community Services and the Young Women’s Christian Association of Sonoma County.
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