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LOUDON, N.H. – The holiday spirit filled The Palace Theatre in Manchester, N.H. Wednesday as Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig joined the New Hampshire Chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities (SCCNH), the official charity of New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS), at its 13th annual Grant Distribution Ceremony. Grants were handed out to 27 local nonprofits totaling $142,000 in front of the festive backdrop from “A Christmas Carol.”
“The spirit of giving is what this season is all about,” said Craig as she addressed the grant recipients during the ceremony. “Thank you to everyone in attendance who works diligently to better the lives of children not only in Manchester, but across New Hampshire and New England. I’m grateful to be here with all of you to recognize the outstanding work you do.”
Since its inception in 2009, SCCNH has distributed more than $2.1 million, supporting more than 957,000 children throughout the region.
“Speedway Children’s Charities is a cornerstone of our company’s culture that we give back to the communities in which our speedways are located,” said New Hampshire Motor Speedway Executive Vice President and General Manager David McGrath. “To be able to work with so many wonderful organizations all over New England to help kids all across the region is such a wonderful feeling, and to do it during the holidays and the season of giving, it just feels really good.”
The grants distributed today resulted from fundraising opportunities and events that took place between November 2021 and October 2022 including Gift of Lights, three Laps for Charity events, a motorcycle Ride to the Racetrack from Laconia Harley-Davidson, a Cornhole Tournament presented by NBT Bank, Track Walk presented by PPG, Hot Laps, the Wicked Good Live Auction and the Dale Jr. Foundation Safe Kids 301. SCCNH also presented the opportunity for race fans to Sign the Track Wall Banner prior to the NASCAR Cup Series race and hosted the second annual 50/50 Raffle presented by PPG that grew to more than $87,000 during the speedway’s July NASCAR weekend.
SCCNH Chapter Director Danielle Cyr participated in a Half Ironman Timberman Triathlon event earlier this year to raise money for SCCNH. That, along with corporate donations from long-time SCCNH supporter PPG; Ambetter by NH Healthy Families, who supports Speedway Children’s Charities at not only NHMS but also many other Speedway Motorsports facilities; first-time SCCNH supporter NBT Bank and several donations from New England race fans enhanced the overall total for the year.
“Today is the special day each year when we get to spread holiday cheer to so many amazing New England organizations,” said Cyr, who also serves as New Hampshire Motor Speedway’s Director of Marketing. “We worked hard to provide lots of fun opportunities for race fans throughout the year to raise as much money as possible so these organizations can serve the needs of tens of thousands of children throughout the region.”
Today’s 27 grant recipients include:
- New Hampshire
- Best Buddies International (Manchester)
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of New Hampshire (Stratham)
- The Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (Dover)
- Easter Seals New Hampshire (Manchester)
- Families in Transition New Hampshire (Manchester)
- Full Circle Farm Therapeutic Horsemanship (Newport)
- Gateways Community Services (Nashua)
- High Hopes Foundation (Nashua)
- Kismet Rock Foundation (North Conway)
- New England Disabled Sports (Lincoln)
- New Hampshire Catholic Charities (Manchester)
- Palace Theatre Trust (Manchester)
- Safari Youth Club (Manchester)
- Sleep in Heavenly Peace (Hillsborough and Rochester)
- Waypoint (Manchester)
- Connecticut
- The Community Action Agency of Western Connecticut (Danbury)
- Stamford Hospital (Stamford)
- Maine
- Camp Sunshine of Sebago Lake (Casco)
- Massachusetts
- The Boys & Girls Club of MetroWest (Marlborough)
- Camp Words Unspoken (Westfield)
- Dreams for Emily (Taunton)
- The Kennek Foundation (Marblehead)
- The Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless (Lynn)
- SAFE Coalition (Norfolk)
- The Sports Museum of New England (Boston)
- Windrush Farm (North Andover)
- YMCA of Metro North (Peabody)
SCCNH is one of 11 chapters around the country, and combined in 2022, Speedway Children’s Charities distributed more than $2.8 million in grants to nearly 300 different charitable organizations across the country, bringing the total funds distributed since 1982 to more than $64.3 million, ensuring many children in need are given the tools to build a better, brighter and healthy future. The money raised comes in large part thanks to the fundraising efforts of 11 Speedway Motorsports facilities and events: Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Dover Motor Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, NASCAR at COTA, Nashville Superspeedway, NHMS, North Wilkesboro Speedway, Sonoma Raceway and Texas Motor Speedway.
Fundraising for 2023 grants has already begun during the 12th annual Gift of Lights presented by Ambetter, open nightly through Jan. 1 at NHMS. A portion of the proceeds from Gift of Lights admissions, race registrations from the Yule Light Up The Night Run/Walk and s’more kit purchases will benefit SCCNH. The 2.5-mile drive-thru light show featuring 3.5 million LED lights, opens at 4:30 p.m. nightly, depending on the weather. Admission is available for purchase online for $35 per car or $60 per bus, limousine or RV. SCCNH has raised $388,335 from Gift of Lights since 2011.
Follow Us:
Keep track of all of the New Hampshire Chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities events on the charity website and by following on Facebook (@SCC.NH), Twitter (@SCCNHMS) and Instagram (@SCCNHMS). To donate directly to SCCNH, please visit SpeedwayCharities.org/Donate/#NewHampshire.
