Foundation donates $100K to Childress pediatric cause

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- NASCAR president and NASCAR Foundation board member Mike Helton presented Richard Childress and the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma with a $100,000 grant from the NASCAR Foundation during Richard Childress Racing's 40th anniversary dinner.

Approximately 12,400 children under the age of 18 die each year from traumatic injury. At the same time, more than 30 trauma centers in the U.S. have closed since 2001, and many others have cut back on the services they offer. The donation was made in an effort to continue funding the critical research and physicians needed to counter this number one killer of children.

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"The Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma serves a great need within the medical community, and we are proud to help fund the research that is working to reduce the occurrence of death by traumatic injury among young people," Helton said. "Richard and Judy [Childress] have demonstrated their giving nature and that of the NASCAR industry with their commitment to giving back to those who need it most."

In 2008, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and the Richard Childress family announced the formation of the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma. The Childress Institute's mission is to significantly improve survival rates of children nationwide who suffer serious injuries and reduce the lifelong impact of traumatic injuries in children.

"The Childress Institute is honored to be associated with the NASCAR Foundation and we truly appreciate this wonderful donation," Childress said. "The work the NASCAR Foundation does with many organizations for a variety of causes is a perfect example of the slogan of the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma: 'No one wins alone.'"

Dr. J. Wayne Meredith serves as executive director for the Childress Institute.

"We are deeply grateful to the NASCAR Foundation for this generous grant and for what it will mean for our research, education and prevention efforts," he said. "Serious injuries are by far the leading cause of death among our nation's children every year. Ultimately, this gift and others like it will lead to fewer life-threatening injuries to children, higher survival rates for kids who are seriously injured and better outcomes for those injured children as they recover. We appreciate the Foundation's help in furthering our cause."

The NASCAR Foundation and CIPT also have partnered on an online auction of a fiberglass pig statue sponsored by Richard Childress Racing for its 40th anniversary celebration. The statue is part of the Pigs in the City community art initiative hosted by Uptown Lexington Inc., in Lexington, N.C, and is autographed by more than 40 NASCAR stars. The auction will close on Oct. 27 at 5:30 p.m. ET. To place a bid, click here.