Hendrick Motorsports raises money for relief
By Marty Smith, Turner Sports Interactive
September 17, 2001
4:39 PM EDT (2039 GMT)
CONCORD, N.C. -- Championship organizations seemingly always step up in clutch situations, and over the past five days Hendrick Motorsports has stepped up like never before.
Hendrick, which won four-straight Winston Cup titles from 1995-1998, has raised more than $30,000 for the current relief efforts in New York and Washington D.C., following last week’s terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
The effort began when Megan Moore, assistant to HMS engine builder Randy Dorton, read about like efforts from Joe Gibbs Racing on NASCAR.com. Within hours, the team had raised $5,000. Taken back by the immediate and overwhelming response, Beth Jones, a marketing/public relations guru at Hendrick, began spearheading a more intensive effort.
By noon, Jones had accumulated some $16,862, with some employees giving more than $1,000 individually.
“Basically, we just wanted to be able to make a difference, we wanted to do something,” Jones said. “I honestly didn't think we'd raise this much money, and it's overwhelming. I've worked at Hendrick Motorsports for three years and am continuously impressed with the generosity and compassion of my co-workers."
Overwhelmed himself, team owner Rick Hendrick, and brother John, offered to match the donation, bringing the total to some $33, 724. Moreover, the at-track members of the Nos. 17 and 24 Craftsman Truck Series teams were still heading back from Texas last week and according to the team would likely make donations Monday morning.
The team plans to give the money to the Red Cross tomorrow. On Friday, Hendrick employees also filled four, four-feet high boxes with food and toiletry items -- accumulated from a list offered by Harris Teeter and NBC-6 in Charlotte -- and took those to Harris Teeter for the relief efforts.
“We wanted to make a difference and I think in our small way, we did,” Jones said. “We are all Americans, and it affects each and every one of us, it doesn't matter where you live. I can't say enough about our employees, from $5.00 donations to $1,000 donations, everyone pitched in.”
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