Texas Motor Speedway Helps Feed 800 Families
FORT WORTH, Texas (August 3, 2011) – Record temperatures didn’t stop families from lining up as early as two hours prior to Wednesday morning’s start of Texas Motor Speedway’s kickoff of its Speeding to Help community outreach campaign at 6 Stones Mission Network’s offices in Bedford.
With the help of Speedway Children’s Charities-Texas Chapter and Feed the Children, Speeding to Help assisted 800 families in need from Hurst, Euless and Bedford by providing each family with a 25-pound box of non-perishable food, a 10-pound box of personal supplies and a box of AVON products. More than 20 Texas Motor Speedway employees, including president Eddie Gossage, and members of 6 Stones Mission Network worked together in loading vehicles of less fortunate families with the supplies throughout the day. The supplies were donated to the cause by Speedway Children’s Charities-Texas Chapter and Feed The Children.
“Through our organization, we have helped about 32,000 people get emergency assistance with food,” 6 Stones Executive Director Scott Sheppard said. “So this is important today. We are just thankful that Texas Motor Speedway is here and recognizing the need. Them wanting to be a part of helping says a lot of Texas Motor Speedway and the organization.”
The Mid-Cities area continues to see an increase in families struggling to remain above the
poverty line. Statistics indicate 56 percent of HEB ISD elementary students come from homes that are classified as “economically challenged.” The district has classified 876 children as “homeless.”
Bedford Mayor Jim Story understands the economic challenges that face his community as well as the surrounding cities. Through the help of programs like Texas Motor Speedway’s Speeding to Help, families are given the steps they need to help eliminate the trend.
“This is a big deal,” Story said. “With Eddie Gossage and Texas Motor Speedway, they have done most of this work today and we appreciate them so much. There is not enough tax money to go around, so it is organizations like this that volunteer to help people out lots of times.”
Lending area families a hand can eliminate the sacrifices that some have been making as the Metroplex continues to be plagued with extreme temperatures that have topped the 100-degree mark for the 33rd consecutive day, including 109 degrees on Wednesday.
“It’s been a real eye-opening lesson for us and it makes you feel good to help people get by in these tough times,” Gossage said. “It’s so hot right now and for some families it is having to pick between putting food on the table or plugging in the air conditioning. You are seeing people in Dallas/Fort Worth struggling with this heat, so maybe they can keep on their air conditioner a little bit more. On behalf of Texas Motor Speedway, we’re just pleased that we could make a positive contribution to these families in need.”
Speeding to Help will continue to help the Dallas/Fort Worth area throughout the month of August. On Aug. 9, volunteers will assist in the renovation of homes in the Mid-Cities area as part of the Community Powered Revitalization (CPR) program. On Aug. 18, Speeding to Help will partner with Levy Restaurants to provide and serve lunch to more than 175 homeless men, women and children at Dallas LIFE Homeless Shelter. The following week, Speeding to Help will help usher in the school year with an incentive-based pilot reading program at Clara Love Elementary in Justin. With a “No Limits” racing theme, “Speed to Read” will encourage elementary students to read more during the school year as classes will challenge each other for prizes and racing-related surprises.
