Five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson selected two more charities to be featured on the 2013 Jimmie Johnson Foundation Blue Bunny Helmet of Hope.
Denver Kids, Inc. and Miracle League of Pensacola were chosen to appear on the helmet that Johnson will wear during race weekend activities at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn on Aug. 18, 2013. Each organization also will receive a grant of $10,000 and a special Blue Bunny ice cream party.
Denver Kids’ mission is to help Denver Public School students, grades K-12, who face the personal challenges of higher risk environments to successfully complete high school, pursue post-secondary programs and become contributing members of society.
Denver Kids, nominated by employee Andy Tiehen, provides one-on-one educational counseling for more than 1,000 students living at or below poverty in the Denver area.
“These students have a graduation rate around 35 percent, but with Denver Kids, Inc., they are graduating at 91 percent” stated Tiehen. “We need more mentors, specifically male mentors, and the publicity and financial support we would receive through a spot on Jimmie’s helmet would be invaluable.”
The Miracle League of Pensacola provides a safe, organized baseball league and facilities for Gulf Coast children with mental and/or physical challenges where every player plays, every player hits, every player gets on base, every player scores and every player wins – every inning. Currently they serve nearly 200 players ranging in age from 4 to 64 years young.
Paul Hinson, a volunteer umpire for the organization, nominated The Miracle League of Pensacola for the Blue Bunny Helmet of Hope, saying, “We accept all players, regardless of their challenges, there are players confined to wheelchairs, players with Down Syndrome and players with attention and learning disorders.”
The League pairs up an able bodied person with each player, enabling the people of the community to form a bond with the players and also to see the happiness that the players gain by being able to play the game of baseball.
Denver Kids, Inc., located in Denver, Colo., and Miracle League of Pensacola, located in Pace, Fla., join Chelsea’s Hope, Me Fine Foundation, Against Abuse, Inc., Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired and Make-A-Wish Iowa as charities that will be featured on the Blue Bunny Helmet of Hope.
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