Media

(Reprinted from the December 12 Martinsville Bulletin.)

The Martinsville Speedway raised nearly $25,000 for its Children’s Foundation on Friday and collected more than 1,200 toys for the 12th annual Martinsville Speedway Toy Drive on Saturday.

With the help of a lot of friends, Speedway President Clay Campbell endured cold, blustery conditions Friday, sitting 38 feet above the ground, to raise nearly $24,587 for the Martinsville Speedway Children’s Foundation.

Campbell had vowed to stay perched above the speedway entrance sign until $20,000 was raised for the foundation. That goal was hit early in the afternoon, but he remained aloft until $24,587 was tallied. He came down at 4 p.m.

“Once again, the generosity of the people of Martinsville and Henry County and our friends in our racing family have amazed me,” Campbell said. “To set such a lofty goal and then surpass it makes this day so gratifying and enjoyable. The Martinsville Speedway Children’s Foundation will really be able to put these funds to use for needy children in our area.”

When he was lifted to his perch for the day shortly after 8 a.m. the temperature was 25 degrees. It never got warmer than 40 and the wind blew at about 10 miles an hour. The only time he came down during the eight hours was for two television interviews.

Donations came from far and wide. Many came from those in the motorsports industry, and as usual, the local area helped out in a big way. Race fans as far as Sweden called in with donations.

“It was a great day and I’m ready and willing to do it again next year with even greater results,” said Campbell.

The Christmas spirit also was present at the speedway Saturday when hundreds of people helped contribute more than 1,200 toys at the toy drive. The toys will go to help 233 local children have a brighter Christmas morning.

In addition to toy contributions, those present took hot laps in their own cars and hotter laps in a pace car driven by Campbell in exchange for donations, had Famous Martinsville Speedway Hot Dogs, sat on Santa’s knee and in general had a big time.

“Everybody had a wonderful time and in the end so many children in this area are going to be helped,” said Campbell. “It’s a fun day for all of us here at the speedway. We see so many of our friends and make so many new friends this day every year.

“And it’s always unbelievable that no matter how bad times are, this community and the racing community come through and make it such a big and beneficial day. It’s truly a humbling experience every year.”

Each of the 233 children will receive a new bicycle. Activate Martinsville is donating a helmet to go along with each one of the bicycles.

The Grace Network, a group of about 85 area churches, handles the toy collection and distribution. Last year it had 159 families to serve from the toy drive. This year the number grew to 233, but enough toys and money were donated to make sure all those families are served.

Grace Network also will distribute 84 homework boxes, which include school supplies, to the 233 children.

The Grace Network’s efforts were boosted by a $15,000 grant from the Hughes Memorial Foundation. As a result, Grace Network was able to buy bicycles and other toys for older children.

The monetary donations made Saturday also will go to buying Christmas gifts.

“The folks with the Grace Network do an amazing job. They are the ones that deserve the credit. They identify families in need and handle the hard work of getting all the toys bought, boxed and distributed,” said Campbell.”We couldn’t do this without them.”

The Grace Network used about 50 volunteers Saturday. They collected toys and cash from those people who wanted to drive around the track in their cars. They took the toys to the infield, sorted them by age group and then boxed them for distribution to families.

Martinsville Speedway employees donated their time to help at the toy drive.