IMSA Official Charities, Camp Boggy Creek and Austin Hatcher Foundation, Among Many Possible Places to Support
By Tony DiZinno
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The holiday season may be short on on-track action, but not short on off-track giving potential. And for the IMSA community, there are multiple ways to give back on GivingTuesday.
What started organically as a simple hashtag to promote generosity, GivingTuesday caps off the run of immediate post-Thanksgiving days as a newer holiday the Tuesday after the event. This year, it occurs today – Tuesday, Dec. 3.
IMSA has multiple ways to partake in GivingTuesday, including its two official charities – Camp Boggy Creek and Austin Hatcher Foundation.
If you’ve followed IMSA for any length of time, either or both charities are likely familiar names. That said, here’s a refresher on both in case any tryptophan events lingered past Thanksgiving Day itself.
Camp Boggy Creek is nearing three decades of service since its 1996 founding, and in that time has supported more than 75,000 children and their family members. The organization focuses on making a lasting impact on children with life-threatening and chronic illnesses by giving them an opportunity to simply be a child and feel normal. Donations for Camp Boggy Creek support all program activities, including 24/7 medical care, meals and lodging.
Thanks to the generosity and support of the IMSA community, among many others, Camp Boggy Creek is a year-round, therapeutic medical camp for children diagnosed in one of 15 different life-threatening and chronic illness groups including cancer, epilepsy, heart disease, sickle cell, spina bifida and others. Summer sessions run from June through August, with family retreats between September and April.
The Florida-based organization, co-founded by legendary late racer/actor/philanthropist Paul Newman and General Norman H. Schwarzkopf, brings together the campers with staff that includes dedicated, experienced and enthusiastic doctors, nurses and counselors.
Ultimately, the Camp Boggy Creek experience is about engaging with others who face the same challenges. Campers and family members attain a positive, sustainable outlook as well as a sense of strength, courage and confidence that lasts well beyond their stay at camp.
The Chattanooga, Tennessee-based Austin Hatcher Foundation for Pediatric Cancer has served as a proud charity of IMSA for more than five years, and also has a near 20-year pedigree of service. It’s a national 501(c)3 public charity founded by Dr. Jim Osborn and wife Amy Osborn after they lost their infant son, Austin Hatcher Osborn, to an aggressive form of pediatric cancer in autumn 2006.
The foundation’s mission is to erase the effects of pediatric cancer on young patients and their families, and it’s had an active presence at circuits that host IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and Michelin Pilot Challenge events with a number of family-friendly fundraising activities. It’s provided programs and services to more than 70,000 children and their families in 38 hospitals across 28 states.
This foundation has had an automotive presence for years. It was the Official Charity of the former American Le Mans Series, and it’s since added an Education Advancement Center, which is automotive-themed.
The IMSA paddock has also identified a wide range of charities and organizations to support this GivingTuesday, listed below:
• Team Penske: Paralyzed Veterans of America | Since 1946, PVA has been on a mission to change lives and build brighter futures for seriously injured veterans by empowering them to regain their freedom and independence.
• Cadillac Whelen (Action Express Racing): Michael J. Fox Foundation | Dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease through an aggressively funded research agenda and to ensure the development of improved therapies for those living with Parkinson’s.
• JDC-Miller MotorSports: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital | Dedicated to treating kids with cancer and other life-threatening diseases. In addition to patient treatment, St. Jude is focused on cutting-edge research to better understand pediatric cancer and how to treat it.
• Heart of Racing Team: Seattle Children’s | Pediatric hospital that provides hope, care and cures to help every child live the healthiest and most fulfilling life possible.
• Iron Dames: Austin Hatcher Foundation | Optimize each child’s quality of life through essential specialized intervention beginning at the time of diagnosis and continuing throughout survivorship with all services provided at no cost.
• DXDT Racing and Robert Wickens: Conquer Paralysis Now | Dedicated to empowering individuals with paralysis and neurological conditions through cutting-edge research, innovative recovery programs, and compassionate support services. Their purpose is to drive progress toward a cure and enhance lives every step of the way.
• Turner Motorsport: Team IMPACT | Matches children facing serious illness and disability with college sports teams, creating a long-term, life-changing experience for everyone involved.
• Team TGM: JKTG Foundation | The Jayne Koskinas Ted Giovanis Foundation for Health & Policy focuses on emerging cancer research with particular interest in collaborative multi-institutional and multi-disciplinary research of breast cancer metastasis; in addition to policy analysis with patients in mind, advocating against regulations, legislation and practices that negatively impact the care someone receives or their ability to pursue a healthy life.
• Kellymoss: Racing for Children’s | A year-round motorsports experience for children with cancer and blood disorders that serves as a distraction from their personal battles. The organization also raises money for research, treatment and cures for childhood cancer and blood disorders in association with Children’s of Alabama, the No. 1 children’s hospital in the state.
• Spark Performance: Big Oak Ranch | A faith-based home for children needing a chance to recover after suffering abuse, neglect and/or abandonment. The organization has seven ministry teams dedicated to improving the standard care of children. Among the ministries are ranches where boys and girls can live, a faith-based private school and the opportunity to be part of a working cattle ranch where children can learn skills while rebuilding confidence in themselves and trust in others.