Race Fans Join In Fight Against Breast Cancer

Thursday, March 1, 2001

Race Fans Join In Fight Against Breast Cancer (NAPSA)—Hours before a NASCAR Winston Cup race, a volunteer at a Race Fans for a Cure” booth is trying to increase awareness of breast cancer and let race fans know the importance of early detection. She is trying to educate as many of the fans as she possibly UAE. can. Bev Veals, the mother of two pre-teens, approaches her task with zeal. What she has to say is important. Diagnosed with breast cancer nearly four years ago, Vealsisstill taken aback by the numberof people who are affected by it. “The numberof people who have had it touch their lives is astounding,” she says. Veals is fortunate; her breast cancer was detected early. “T still don’t consider myself a survivor because there isn’t a real definite point where it could’ve been life or death for me,” she says. “I really wasn’t even sick.[I] took a few days [after surgery to recuperate], but other than that I haven’t skipped a beat. I found my cancer early so I didn’t have to have chemo[therapy]. I think of myself as belonging to a sisterhood. That is what weare striving for with breast cancer: Finding it early to increase the chance of surviving. I am a poster child for that. So the efforts of education and early detection are paying for groups like the Komen Foundation.” The Race Fans for a Cure™ initiative is sponsored by Ford Credit and benefits the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. The booths appear at various NASCAR Winston Cup events and Ford Racing Fan Appreciation Days throughout the season, offering information about the Komen Foundation and the three steps to early breast cancer detection, and accepting donations Kelley Jarrett, wife of NASCAR driver Dale Jarrett, signs an autograph at a Race Fansfor a Cure” booth. from fans. All proceeds go to the Komen Foundation. For a $1 donation, fans ean personalize a pink paper ribbon for inclusion on a banner displayed at Ford Credit’s check presentation to the Komen Foundation. Fans also receive a keepsake enamel ribbon to show their sup- port. In 2000, more than $388,000 wascontributed, a total surpassed midway through the 2001 season. Since 1998, Ford Credit, associate sponsor of the No. 88 Ford Taurus driven by 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Champion Dale Jarrett, has donated money to the Komen Foundation for every topthree finish and pole position (as fastest qualifier) that Jarrett collects during the season. Since the program’s inception, Ford Credit has donated nearly $600,000 based on Jarrett’s on-track performance and end-of-season bonuses. Ford Credit donates $10,000 for each of Jarrett’s victories, $7,500 for each second-place finish, $5,000 for each third-place finish and $5,000 for each pole won. “We created Race Fans for a Cure™ to reach race fans with the life-saving message of early detection,” says Phil Gordon, Ford Credit Motorsport Manager. “It’s amazing how much the program has grown in just a year. We get e-mails through our Web site (www.racefansforacure.com) every day from people around the country who have been touched by the program or who just want to tell us how much they appreciate what we are doing. “As national spokespersons for Race Fans for a Cure”, Dale and his wife, Kelley, have played an important part by lending not only their names in support of the cause, but their time as well. Kelley has come out to work at the booth and meet fans on numerous occasions. I can’t tell you how many fans write in to tell us how much they look up to Dale and Kelley for their work on behalf of the cause.” “We have enjoyed meeting the fans and are inspired by the kindness and generosity when they visit the booth to honor a loved one or share their personal story,” Kelley Jarrett says. “We are grateful to the fans, as we truly believe they, individually, are making a great impact to eradicate breast cancer.” Veals, too, is making a great impact. “My most touching moment is when a young man and woman started walking past me,” Veals says, “and the man suddenly stopped and asked me about the pink pin. When I told him about the program and the importance of early detection, he pulled a dollar out of his pocket to get a pink pin. He took the pin and pinned it on his wife’s shirt and told her, ‘This is for you because I love you.’ It was a beautiful moment of awareness that I was able to witness. That is why I have this mission and it is so important to me.”

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