Jeff Gordon, four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, is making an impact in the lives of kids.
Gordon is a three-time Daytona 500 winner, a four-time Brickyard 400 winner and the list goes on. He finished seventh this past weekend in the 2013 Brickyard 400.
At the age of 5, Gordon ran laps on a fairground his stepfather converted to a makeshift racetrack. From that point, Gordon began to make history.
“He’s a champion … he’s one of the top drivers in NASCAR,” says Tim Sullivan, staff member in the public relations department at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
In 2011, Gordon placed third on the NASCAR All-Time Wins list after his 85th victory at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Though the car #24 driver is known for his successful racing career, he also does philanthropic work.
Gordon is the founder of the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation (JGCF), a donor for Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health.
“When I started my own foundation in ’99, I wanted to focus on pediatrics and primarily pediatric care,” said Gordon.
His first close experience with cancer was seeing the son of his crew chief suffer from leukemia. From there, Gordon began supporting The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and the Make a Wish Foundation before forming his own foundation.
The JGCF funds organizations that provide the best in treatment, research and patient support programs for pediatric cancer and granted nearly $1.5 million in 2012. The JGCF Pediatric Cancer Research Fund at Riley hospital was granted $300,000 from JGCF in 2012.
“Every dollar is just so important that we raise to help kids and to advance research that ultimately finds the treatments and the cures that are delivered to children,” says Kevin O’Keefe, president and CEO of Riley Children’s Foundation. “Anytime you have somebody who has the kind of profile as Jeff, it’s a big deal. It helps us and it enhances our ability to raise money; but even more importantly than that, it’s the impact it has on the children.”
Working closely with Riley hospital, the JGCF helps children like Layla Cunningham, an 11-year-old girl who was diagnosed with a brain tumor at 4 years old.
Through surgery and chemotherapy at Riley, the entire tumor was removed. Six years later, she was diagnosed with kidney cancer.
“It’s been a long and exhausting journey,” Cunningham’s mother, Shenicka Poindexter, said.
Cunningham underwent another surgery and today is doing well.
Stories like Layla’s is what motivates Gordon.
“I’m someone who had a dream of racing cars and I was able to live out that dream. I want to see every child get to do that same thing,” said Gordon.
For more information on Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation, visit Jeffgordonchildrensfoundation.org. For more on Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health, call (877) 867-4539 or visit Rileykids.org.
