RACERS HELPING RACERS
Racers Helping Racers is a fund established several years ago by Linda Kearney for the benefit of WDCR members in a time of need. Contact Racers Helping Racers at ajvideosrv@aol.com to let AJ know about someone in the WDCR Family who may need a little cheering up. Read more to find out how you can help.
WHY?
A personal story …
While standing on a corner at Beaverun Motorsports Park enjoying a perfect start to a three day weekend of vintage racing, my phone rings. Unusual, yes. It was my daughter crying - her mother had just left the doctor diagnosed with breast cancer. This started a negative spiral for our family. Four days later, I walk into work and was informed that I was no longer employed.
So making a long story short, at the next MARRS race I finally let my second family know what was going on in my life. One week later my wife received a card from the WDCR RHR group. Now, she has nothing to do with racing and this simple gesture from my second family really hit us hard. It was a huge help to my family emotionally knowing that the same people that I look out for on the track are also looking out for me off the track.
My story is not that uncommon and we each know of similar racing friends that have had hard times in their lives. Racers Helping Racers is just that … help ... that is needed from their competitors, friends, and racing FAMILY.
Your monies will support this effort and at some point you or someone close to your racing community will need this emotional support.
Please give what you can and thank you for being a part of my racing family.
Mark Hillyer Bald Flaggers of America and proud WDCR member
Brief History of RHR Fund
Several years ago one of our WDCR AS drivers and his entire family (who will remain anonymous) were involved in a terrible accident in their mini van outside Charles Town. The dad & young son received life threatening injuries and would require multiple surgeries for months with no promise of survival. The dad had just gotten a new job, but did not have any insurance coverage yet. The mom and daughter were also injured, and she was self employed and also without insurance.
That's when it hit Linda Kearney. Her words: "He's a racer and we're all racers. We can help take care of our own." She contacted an AS driver website and other racer sites, and as the word spread around the country $5000 came pouring in and Racers Helping Racers was born. Over the next 6 months she sent the family money to help pay the bills and help keep them afloat. Through her amazing efforts she received word about other families in need, both within the WDCR and across the country. The fund helped a corner worker's wife whose husband had been killed at a race event in the Midwest, another family of a long time steward from the Northeast who lost their home after his death, paid the SCCA membership dues of a worker who had lost his job, paid to cover the entry fee of a racer whose home had been flooded, and good wishes were sent by way of a teddy bear and card to a family whose one year old had undergone several brain surgeries.
These are Linda’s words; "Over the years it became evident that it wasn't the monies being sent that was important, but the love and concern of our family being sent out." So for all of us, it's about the teddy bear and the card that we send to our WDCR family members just to let them know that we're thinking about them.
Please make a generous contribution to this effort. The RHR funds are totally separate from other WDCR monies. It will not only pay for cards of encouragement and the teddy bears, but will also try to help members who are in financial need.
By the way, the original family we helped is now doing well and their son has even taken up racing.Please send your donation to:
WDCR-SCCA Racers Fund P.O. Box 4334 Silver Spring, MD 20914-4334 Attn: Heidi S. Weir
Donations can also be made via PayPal. Please note that donations are not tax deductible at this time.
Contact Racers Helping Racers at ajvideosrv@aol.com to let AJ know about someone in the WDCR Family who may need a little cheering up.