Racers Who Care
For more info E-mail:
Judy Strawn
INTRODUCTION TO RACERS WHO CARE
RACERS WHO CARE, INC. IS A WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA BASED 501C3 CHARITABLE CORP. THAT WORKS WITH AUTO, BOAT, MOTORCYCLE AND TRUCK RACERS DEDICATED TO MAKING A POSITIVE DIFFERENCE FOR OUR NEXT GENERATION.
IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND THROUGHOUT THE U.S., IN COMMUNITIES SURROUNDING THEIR TRACKS, RWC’S RACERS UNFORGETTABLY IMPACT KIDS WITH EXCITING OBSERVATIONS ON HOW TO SUCCEED, PRESENTED BY PEOPLE WHO HAVE -- VERY PUBLICLY, AND IN A FIELD PERCEIVED AS RUTHLESS, TOUGH AND UNFORGIVING.
PRESENTATIONS CENTER ON KEY UNIVERSAL TRUTHS RWC CALLS QUICK TIPS ON WINNING IN LIFE, APPLICABLE TO ALL CHILDREN AND TEENS REGARDLESS OF AGE, CULTURAL BACKGROUND, OR LIFE EXPERIENCE: FIND SOMETHING TO DO IN LIFE THAT YOU REALLY LOVE, STUDY, LEARN THE ART OF TEAMWORK, FIND A MENTOR, TAKE THE LONG VIEW, BE FLEXIBLE WITH YOUR DREAMS AND GOALS, AVOID THE PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE, AND MORE.
BECAUSE OF KNOWLEDGE GAINED THROUGH LEARNING THE ROPES OF RACING, ATTAINING SKILLS AND BECOMING LEADERS IN THEIR FIELD, RACERS ARE UNIQUELY POSITIONED TO FILL A VOID IN YOUNGSTERS’ GENERAL EDUCATION BETWEEN WHAT THEY LEARN IN SCHOOL AND WHAT THEY NEED TO KNOW AS THEY APPROACH THE REALM OF ADULTHOOD AND ENTERING THE WORKPLACE, HOW TO: ESTABLISH WORKING RELATIONSHIPS, DEVELOP COPING SKILLS, LOCATE MENTORS AND OTHER KEY PRACTICALITIES.
NOW IN ITS SIXTEENTH YEAR, RWC HAS MAINTAINED A LOW PROFILE WHILE ORGANIZING AND BUILDING UP A PROVEN TRACK RECORD FOR ITS PRESENTATIONS AND ITS NATIONAL CHLD’S DAY CELEBRATION. FOR SEVERAL YEARS, RWC’S OUTREACH/RESOURCES WERE PRIMARILY FOCUSED ON PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT OF ITS SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA NATIONAL CHILD’S DAY CELEBRATION.
LATE IN 2007, RACER PRESENTATIONS WERE RE-INSTITUTED IN THE GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA. AS OF MID-2009, THERE WERE ACTIVE QUICK TIPS ON WINNING IN LIFE PRESENTATION TEAMS IN LOS ANGELES, PORTLAND, PHOENIX, FRESNO, INDIANAPOLIS AND ON CAPE COD, AS WELL AS ON THE AMERICAN LEMANS SERIES WITH DAVID BRABHAM, DOMINIC CICERO, BRYAN SELLERS, DREW STAVELY, MELANIE PATERSON AND BRANDON DAVIS. ADDITIONAL PRESENTATION TEAMS ARE PLANNED FOR ATLANTA, DENVER AND CHICAGO.
IN AN ONGOING, LONG-TERM, PARTNERSHIP WITH CHAMPIONS USA, UNDER THE
AUSPICES OF THE LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT'S BEYOND THE BELL
AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM AND ITS 21ST CENTURY ASSETS GRANTS, RACERS WHO
CARE IS SENDING PROFESSIONAL RACERS THROUGHOUT THE LOS ANGELES UNIFIED
SCHOOL DISTRICT TO MAKE PRESENTATIONS, AND TO SHARE DRIVING SAFETY TIPS
WITH DRIVER EDUCATION STUDENTS.
RWC’S SPOKESRACERS
RWC HAS WORKED WITH A NUMBER OF RACERS ON A ONE-TIME OR OCCASIONAL BASIS.
OUR KEY SPOKESRACERS, WHO JOINED RWC AT ITS OUTSET AND MADE PRESENTATIONS IN CONNECTION WITH NEARLY EVERY RACE ON THEIR RESPECTIVE SERIES OVER A NUMBER OF YEARS, HAVE BEEN:
SERIES: SPOKESRACERS
NHRA: DRAG BIKE CHAMPION, STEVE JOHNSON
SCCA TRANS AM: TRANS AM & IMSA CHAMPION, TOMMY KENDALL
INDY CAR/ CART: ALL PPG/FED EX PACE CAR DRIVERS [ALL PACE CAR DRIVERS ARE YOUNG LADIES WHO SUCCESSFULLY COMPETE ON A VARIETY OF MOTORSPORTS SERIES]
ANNE ROY & ALL TOYOTA ATLANTIC RACERS
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK: RICK CARELLI & RANDY TOLSMA
OUR CURRENT SPOKESRACERS
AMERICAN LE MANS: DAVID BRABHAM, DOMINIC CICERO, MELANIE PATERSON, BRYAN SELLERS,
NHRA: JACK BECKMAN, ANTRON BROWN, SCOTT “LUCKY” HUDSON, STEVE JOHNSON, KENNY SNOW, SHANNON SPEER
GRAND-AM: ROBB HOLLAND
AT LARGE - LOS ANGELES: RYAN REGALADO, NATHAN SWARTZBAUGH
F1 BOSTON KARTING: RYLAN RICHARD
NASA/NOPI/BOTI/RTA/HIN: CHRISTIAN RADO
AT LARGE - INDIANAPOLIS: RHONDA TRAMMELL - PPG PACE CAR DRIVER – CART/INDYCAR
AT LARGE - PORTLAND: JOEL LAFOLLETTE - RETIRED – SCCA SOLO II; PATARESSI RACING SCHOOL INSTRUCTOR
KELLIE LAFOLLETTE - RETIRED – SCCA ESCORT ENDURANCE; PPG PACE CAR DRIVER – CART/INDYCAR
NASCAR/ASA/WINSTON WEST TRUCKS: TOM MIKLA, SCOTT RUESCHENBERG, MOSES SMITH
BONNEVILLE LAND SPEED RECORD COMPETITION: SCOTT HORNER
RMSHA - ARCTIC CATS: JIM CREAGAN, TABOR CRESAP
OFF-ROAD: JIM CREAGAN, TABOR CRESAP, JULIE NEWELL
SCCA - WORLD SPEED CHAMPION: BRANDON DAVIS, DREW STAVELY, CINDI LUX
SCCA TOURING CAR: TIM NICKEL
AT LARGE: KRISTIAN ALEXIS
RWC FAQs
Founded in 1993
Holds Federal nonprofit tax exempt [501C3] status - Federal tax I.D.: 95-4417337
Is a State of California nonprofit, tax exempt, charitable corporation – California Tax I.D.: 1911416
Holds City of Los Angeles and City of Santa Monica Business Licenses
Member of Santa Monica, CA, Chamber of Commerce
Registered with GuideStar
Member of VolunteerMatch
Member of the Southern California Broadcasters Association
Member of International Festival and Events Association
Member of P.I.R.A.T.E.S. [Print, Interactive, Radio and Television Educational Society]
RACERS WHO CARE PRESENTATIONS
Racers Who Care is a Los Angeles, California-based group of motorsports professionals dedicated to making a difference for our next generation. Utilizing racers as role models, the program has unforgettably impacted children and teens throughout the U.S. with a variety of excitingly educational presentations centered around major American racing venues.
Using personal observations from their own experiences, racers bring to children and teens a stirring message of positive alternatives to substance abuse and negative behaviors. Presentations center on key universal truths, listed below, applicable to every young person regardless of age, life experience or cultural background.
RWC's racers usually begin their presentations with:
"When I was your age, I REALLY wanted to be a racer when I grew up. I dreamed about it all the time. And now, I'm actually LIVING my dream -- I made it come true!
I'm going to share with you some things I did that helped make my dream to be a racer come true. You may not want to be a racer when you grow up -- you may dream of being a nurse, a scientist or a basketball player or something else exciting, but if you follow some of the suggestions I'm going to make, it should help you make your own dream come true."
Then the racers follow about 8 key concepts:
1. find something to do in life that you REALLY love;
2. study;
3. find a mentor;
4. be flexible with dreams and goals -- there are many ways to be involved in most fields [This one is important because some may really not be able to do what they want to for one reason or another. By being flexible, they can acknowledge that and still find a way to be involved in the field they like -- an aspiring racer may have poor eyesight and not - allowed to compete BUT he or she might make a terrific motorsports journalist or public relations professional; someone who wants to be a surgeon may not have good enough coordination to do the work, but might make a fantastic hospital administrator, etc.];
5. take the long view -- don't get caught up in sadness or anger over misunderstandings or things that happen not quite right; just practice letting these things pass over while you work hard on an interesting project and eventually, they won't seem as important;
6. explore your talent and creativity -- try a lot of different things: take photos, paint pictures, try singing, act in a play, write a story and send it to a magazine, you might surprise yourself and find out you're very talented -- keep interested in many things -- it will make you a more interesting person and will make life more interesting to you;
7. learn the art of teamwork -- racers don't get to winner’s circle without tire changers and mechanics -- having someone to help often makes things easier to do; and
8. avoid the path of least resistance like drug and alcohol abuse.
Each racer individualizes these concepts with anecdotes
from his or her own experiences.
For more information on Racers Who Care visit: http://racerswhocare.org
