Hey guys! We did it! We are in the final four! I can’t say enough about this 22 team and their determination to win. We got here as a team and we will face our challenge in Miami as a team. I am so thankful for this opportunity and for your support.
Going into this weekend is kind of bitter sweet for us. It is always exciting to get some time off and spend the holidays with family, but it’s also when much of the opportunity for awareness fades. Something we love about this job is the platform we get to raise awareness for many phenomenal organizations the foundation supports. What intensifies the whole giving experience for us are the many outlets we have to highlight these organizations. We see a great response from generous people. People willing to give financially and/or their time to our Foundation’s efforts.
Something that has spoken volumes in our hearts this week has truly been the power of numbers and the impact of unity. This comment seems so cliché, yet scarce in reality. This past week we saw a beautiful representation of this power and unity. We had the opportunity to honor a young boy that had passed away from Leukemia. His mother reached out to the industry, through a reporter, requesting the presence of the NASCAR community. She felt as though her ask was far-fetched. On the day that her son was laid to rest, NASCAR came through with a showing of over 60 crew members and drivers to spread their love. The impact through numbers was incredible, although the unity that rendered itself was incomprehensible. Competitors all came together in spite of their differences. They stood unified for a greater cause. So as we close this season and this program, we have one more cause and partner that demonstrate just how powerful it can be when a group comes together to make a difference.
This Week’s Cause: World Hunger
This week we shed light on the sad truth that many people around the world and right here in the United States do not have a sufficient and consistent food supply. According to a recent government report, one in seven U.S. households are food insecure. In terms of children, 51% of public school children qualified for free and reduced-price lunch programs. That means that they live in homes that are at high risk for food insecurity. From a global stand point, poor nutrition is responsible for 45% of the deaths of children under the age of five. If there is anything that takes a life from this world, in our opinion, food and water should not be one. Everyone deserves to have those two basic necessities of life. There are so many fantastic organizations that we support that help children mentally and emotionally, yet without these basic needs all of those other forms of support are meaningless.
This Week’s Joey Logano Foundation Chasing Second Chances Non-Profit Partner: Joshua’s Heart Foundation
This week we team up with Joshua’s Heart, an organization that began with a 4 year old’s mission to end world hunger. Joshua’s Heart has numerous programs to
help defeat the hunger crisis. They have a Backpack Program where volunteers fill backpacks with nutritious non-perishable foods to children and the H.O.P.E Box program (Having Only Positive Expectations) which empowers children to help homeless people through the packing of a shoe box with food and hygienic necessities. Joshua’s Heart also provides much opportunity for youth to be involved in Joshua’s hunger movement. He has a Jr. Advisory Board, a team of ambassadors and a group called Elves whose job is to fundraise and educate the public on their efforts. This week we decided to get more hands-on with our partner. With Thanksgiving around the corner, The Joey Logano Foundation, along with Joshua’s Heart, is taking 102 families on a grocery shopping spree for their Thanksgiving meals in Miami. We are excited to have the opportunity to volunteer with this event.
To close, we want to say thank you to all of our foundation supporters. This includes the financial supporters, the volunteers, the blog readers and the social media followers. If we have learned anything this racing and giving season, it has been that giving is an opportunity, not something that should be viewed as a burden, or something to check off your list. To transform and impact lives is something you cannot put a price on. When you transform lives, you tend to transform your heart in the process. It is as we stated above an “experience”. That giving experience, that exchange of the intangible can start an addicting phenomenon. When you choose to be selfless you ironically get way more in return.
Thank you all! Happy Holidays!!
Brittany and Joey Logano
