March 12, 2010
By Rebecca Gladden
As Kyle Petty and friends prepare to hit the open road for their upcoming annual motorcycle ride, they carry with them a bit more pressure than in years past.
That's because the current economic crisis has affected charity fundraising across the board, including Petty's Victory Junction Gang Camp - the beneficiary of monies raised via the nine-day cross-country trek.
"If the economy has affected your household income, it's affected us as a charity - that's how simple it is," Petty told me. "People that have been in a position to give are not in a position to give as much. Donations nationwide, across the board, are down 15-20 percent, and we've taken a hit on that at the same time."
While dealing with its share of financial struggles, Petty made it clear that the focus of his camp remains the children it serves. Victory Junction Gang Camp, located in Randleman, North Carolina, with a second location opening soon in Kansas City, Kansas, offers a year-round camping environment for children with serious or chronic medical conditions at no cost to the children or their families. The non-profit camp operates solely on the donations of corporations, organizations and individuals.
"We've tried to do everything we can to not affect the kids," Petty said. "We've cut out a couple of our spring weekends and a couple of our fall weekends - but we still do spring and fall weekends, and we still see kids all summer long. We've put off painting a building. Instead of mowing every week, we mow every other week. We've done all the little things we can to keep the money going to the kids, not to the facility."
Petty notes that many supporters who believe in the camp's mission have continued to donate despite their own financial worries, and he wants contributors to know how much he values every penny that comes in. "We are so very blessed by those people who donate. When you donate a dollar to camp, we want that dollar to go to the kids at camp. That's our main goal. It's been our main goal from the very, very beginning, to build a facility that is as maintenance-free as possible and to make sure we have the best counselors, the best doctors, the best nurses, and the best people at camp to look after these kids. Even though the economy has been down a little bit, we've been fairly successful at maintaining that and we are pretty proud of that."
One of the camps most steadfast supporters has been NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., who recently made headlines with a $1 million donation in support of VJGC. Petty said Earnhardt did not seek out the publicity and had hoped to keep the donation a secret, though word leaked out about a month later. "That was a funny deal. He made the donation and he really didn't want anybody to know about it. That's the kind of guy he is. He is just a good guy. Dale Jr. is the first guy in the garage area who has donated to both camps - to the North Carolina camp and the Kansas camp." Earnhardt's contribution will be used to construct a horse corral and outdoor 'AMPhitheater' - a nod to his sponsor, AMP Energy Drink.
The Kyle Petty Charity Ride raises money for Victory Junction through corporate sponsorship of the event, fees paid by participants, and public fundraisers and donations along the route. "It's like a nine-day telethon," said Petty. "Probably 80-90 percent of the money that people pay to go on the ride goes straight to the camps or to the children's hospitals that we stop at. It's almost a direct donation to the camp or to the hospital."
For those who aren't able to interact with this year's Kyle Petty Charity Ride in person, you can follow the ride every step of the way on www.kylepettycharityride.com, as well as on Twitter and Facebook. "If you go to the website, we shoot little vignettes every day of where we went, what we did, where we're going, the fuel stops, and things like that," said Petty. "That's something that's pretty cool to follow. During the course of the day on Twitter, as long as we're in an area where the phone works, you'll be able to follow us pretty much hour-by-hour."
Fans are also encouraged to donate to the ride or to the camp, but Petty notes that there are many ways to help besides direct monetary contributions. "Most people think they just need to write a check to the camp. But there are so many other ways to help in your own community. You can do a fundraiser and send a kid from your community to camp. The money doesn't have to come straight to North Carolina. It can be to send a family or a child from your area to camp, because that's important to us, too. The camp website has all the information on ways to help."
Petty expects several NASCAR drivers to ride along this year, as they have in the past, although the exact list of drivers has not been finalized. Pending their availability, participants may include David Ragan, Matt Kenseth and Scott Speed, among others.
For more information about the Charity Ride, please visit www.kylepettycharityride.com.
For more information about Victory Junction, please visit www.victoryjunction.org.
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