In Haiti, NASCAR flies to the rescue

Full Article

In Haiti, NASCAR flies to the rescue

By The Charlotte Observer – February 8, 2010

Font Size:

Share:

By Mark Price
msprice@charlotteobserver.com

Lisa Hanenburg of Munster, Ind., admits it sounds strange to say NASCAR saved 150 children two weeks ago in a Haitian town not far from Port-au-Prince.

Even she has a hard time believing what happened when, in a moment of desperation, she called Rick Hendrick Motorsports in Charlotte: Could it help get food to an orphanage in Source Matelas where dozens of children were cut off and starving after the Jan. 12 earthquake?

"I have a friend who had been working to adopt one of the children, and we were getting text messages from him that they were desperate and hadn't eaten in days," said Hanenburg, who is part of a nonprofit group that supports the orphanage.

"I called the government, the Salvation Army, the Red Cross, and they couldn't do anything. ... Then I heard Mr. Hendrick was helping with the Haiti situation, so I called. Literally, within 18 hours, food was on the ground at the orphanage. It was miraculous."

That act of kindness is one of several examples of how the NASCAR community became a key player in the early stages of the international relief effort - something for which the sport has not been known.

Hendrick's company was the first to act, offering to partner with Missionary Flights International to get emergency personnel into and out of Haiti for nearly two weeks.

The racing teams of Joe Gibbs and Michael Waltrip followed, offering planes for all or part of the relief effort.

Then came news that the Charlotte-based NASCAR Foundation gave $250,000 for Haitian relief. Later, NASCAR partnered with the SPEED channel for a "NASCAR Haiti Earthquake Relief Special," encouraging fans to give to the American Red Cross.

Individual drivers also helped. Jimmie Johnson's foundation, for one, sent thousands of pieces of clothing.

NASCAR officials point out that philanthropy is nothing new for the sport, which has 30 affiliated foundations, most of them focused on children.

However, this marks the first time NASCAR has acted on such a large scale for international aid, and charities that deal with crisis relief around the world have taken notice.

Missionary Flights International credits the aircraft supplied by Hendrick and other teams as the chief way doctors and emergency personnel reached Haiti in the two weeks following the quake. In all, the NASCAR jets took 2,000 people into and out of Haiti at a time when airlines weren't servicing the country, said Harold Martin, disaster relief coordinator for Missionary Flights.

"Yes, it has changed my perception of NASCAR. It's the first time I've dealt with them. ... But the next time we have a disaster in a 1,000-mile radius, they will be on my mind. They were fantastic."

Paul Brooks, senior vice president of NASCAR, credits Hendrick Motorsports with inspiring other racing teams to take action. In addition to flying in emergency personnel, he said Hendrick's crews assisted in countless little ways, such as bringing home the body of a Methodist minister who died in the earthquake. The minister was a family friend of a NASCAR media-group employee.

"He jumped into action with his entire organization and we began to get e-mails that said things like 'Hendrick Motorsports just landed in Florida with 30 orphans from Haiti,'" Brooks said. "It made everyone realize that we had the resources to have an impact."

Hendrick Motorsports began its flights out of Fort Pierce, Fla., on Jan.16, using two 45-passenger Saab 200 aircrafts typically used for shuttling staff to and from racetracks. For 12 days, the aircraft made round trips to Haiti, carrying everything from United Nations representatives to a planeload of 26 children adopted by families waiting in the United States.

By the time Lisa Hanenburg called on Jan. 19, Hendrick pilots Dave Dudley and Jim Klepper had strong connections with groups like Samaritan's Purse, which got food to her orphans.

"They would surely be dead were it not for Mr. Hendrick," she said. "Not only the children, but the entire town of about 500 people benefitted from the food. They saved lives."

Hendrick said the level of aid wasn't planned from the start, but evolved after he asked his staff how they might help. The 27 round trips cost more than $200,000, but he remains committed to sending crews back to Haiti between races. The season will begin in 10 days with the Daytona 500.

"We're going to do as much as we can as long as we can," Hendrick said. "I can't imagine what it's like to live in a place where people are dying in the streets. Now, we have millions living in tents, blankets on poles. How do you take care of all of them?"

He said he believes there will be another Haiti. "Now we're prepared."