NASCAR Chairman and CEO, wife cap off year of support
There’s no doubt the upcoming opportunity to join rock ‘n roll legend Bruce Springsteen for lasagna dinner and a motorcycle ride through the “Boss’s” New Jersey hometown is something NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France and his wife, Amy, are looking forward to enjoying.
But the most rewarding part of the experience already happened for the couple. It was writing the $300,000 check for their time with Springsteen — a silent auction winning bid at the recent Stand Up For Heroes gala in New York City.
Knowing the donation would benefit military veterans and their families through the Bob Woodruff Foundation is exactly the kind of reward that has driven the couple to be one of the sports world’s most generous philanthropists.
“NASCAR has a long history of honoring members of our nation’s military. It always has been — and always will be — part of the fabric of our sport,” Amy France told ESPN. “For Brian and I, it’s been about quietly and passionately supporting active service men and women; as well as veterans. The innovative programs offered by the Bob Woodruff Foundation aggressively address the critical needs of injured veterans returning from combat.
“With the Stand Up For Heroes event, we saw an opportunity to play a role in helping to heal the silent wounds of war.”
The real joy comes in the giving, and that’s something Brian and Amy have done in abundance over the years.
Contributing money to and raising awareness for charities is nothing new for the Frances, who are prolific and committed to helping worthy and wide-reaching causes.
Their level of concern is all-encompassing as the past few years would indicate.
Not only are the Frances’ long-standing supporters of vital causes — such as the Bob Woodruff Foundation — that benefit military servicemen and their families, but as parents, Amy and Brian feel particularly strong about issues affecting children.
In 2013, they served as hosts for the annual Autism Speaks fundraising gala at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art — fittingly naming the benefit “Speeding for a Cure.”
“The sport is big enough with enough reach to be in step with the other major sports leagues in the country to chair a big night and raise the kind of money you need to, to make this school and the cure more possible,” Brian France said at the time.
And he and Amy didn’t just write a big check and encourage friends to join them in support of this cause. While in New York, the couple spent significant time with the autistic students and their families who attended The Gillen Brewer School, which benefited from the Autism Speaks event they chaired.
“We have to dedicate resources, time and energy to finding out the underlying reason for autism and how to effectively work with autistic children,” Amy France explained after visit to the school. “We don’t have autistic children, but I am a parent, so I feel impacted by it. We are all impacted on some level.”
Medical issues have definitely been a focus of the Frances’ efforts.
Just weeks after the Stand Up For Heroes gala, the couple made a large donation to the Michael J. Fox Foundation and attended the organization’s annual “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Cure” Parkinson’s Gala at New York’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Fox, who has Parkinson’s, has raised approximately $5 million a year through this single event.
“We’re happy to be a part of something so important and Brian and I always say that we may not immediately be impacted but this, but we’re all impacted by this on many levels, whether it be family members, friends,” Amy France said at the event. “And until we find a cure, until we make progress with research then we all have to get involved. There’s a long way to go still.”
This October the Frances attended the nationally acclaimed Angel Ball also in New York and donated $50,000 to Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation for Cancer Research, a major contributor to research in the areas of leukemia and lymphoma.
The Angel Ball was also significant to NASCAR’s Chairman as this year, it honored a NASCAR athlete, four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon, and his longtime efforts in the pediatric cancer field.
For NASCAR, it all starts at the top. The Frances commitment to charity and making a difference is a reflection of them and of the NASCAR community.
And there is no offseason when it comes to helping out.
“To be able to help in some small way is a big deal to us and a big deal to the sport,” Brian France said. “That’s what we’ve got to be about.”