Childress recipient of Home Depot Humanitarian Award

ATLANTA -- The Home Depot, the world's largest home improvement retailer and Official Home Improvement Warehouse of NASCAR, and NASCAR announced Thursday that Richard Childress, president and CEO of Richard Childress Racing and former NASCAR driver, was selected as the recipient of the 2008 NASCAR Home Depot Humanitarian Award.

Childress is honored for establishing the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma at the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. The award is open to any member of the NASCAR community who has shown extraordinary dedication to serving others and improving communities through meaningful service efforts.

Childress

As the 2008 NASCAR Home Depot Humanitarian of the Year, Childress received a $100,000 donation made by The Home Depot to his charity of choice, the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma at the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, and a specially designed crystal award.

In 2008, Childress made a $5 million donation to establish the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma. The Childress Institute aspires to impact the chances of a child dying from a traumatic injury through advancing and disseminating research and knowledge on the treatment and care of children with traumatic injuries. Traumatic injury is the leading cause of death for children in the United States, and the Childress Institute will focus on research, education, treatment, prevention and raising awareness of childhood injuries. Childress is currently working with a number of organizations and donors in an effort to raise additional support for the Institute.

"The Home Depot is honored to recognize Richard Childress as the 2008 recipient of the NASCAR Home Depot Humanitarian Award for the establishment of the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma," said Frank Bifulco, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of The Home Depot. "Richard's generous spirit and commitment to this cause will bring awareness to pediatric traumatic injuries and help save the lives of countless children in the future. All three Humanitarian Award finalists embody the values of volunteerism and dedication to improving their communities that are fundamental to both The Home Depot and NASCAR."

The other finalists for the award were Artie Kempner, coordinating director of NASCAR for FOX Sports and founder of the Autism Society of Delaware, and Ryan Newman, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver for Penske Racing, founder of Racing for Wildlife with The Conservation Fund and animal rights advocate. They received a $25,000 donation each to their designated non-profit organizations.

"Richard Childress is a legend in NASCAR as a team owner, driver and philanthropist," said Marcus Jadotte, managing director of public affairs for NASCAR. "NASCAR is proud to join with The Home Depot in recognizing Richard for his dedication to the cause of pediatric traumatic injuries. Richard's work with the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma demonstrates the heart and will to help that exists in our sport and we are proud of the way our drivers, owners and everyone that is part of the NASCAR family give back to their communities."

All active employees within the NASCAR industry -- drivers, owners, team and track employees, licensees, media partners and motorsports media -- were eligible to receive the NASCAR Home Depot Humanitarian Award. Nominees were assessed based on their community commitment and dedication; impact on the community; and charitable giving of their time and talents. A blue-ribbon committee comprised of representatives from NASCAR, The Home Depot and motorsports media selected the NASCAR Home Depot Humanitarian Award winner.

The NASCAR Home Depot Humanitarian Award was established in 2007. The inaugural Humanitarian Award winner was Don Miller, a former Penske Racing executive. Miller started the Stock-for-Tots program as a holiday event to collect toys and raise funds for Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN).