DARLINGTON, S.C. — Darlington Raceway, Sport Clips Haircuts and the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) are asking for race fans to help support the Help a Hero campaign by purchasing a ticket for the upcoming NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Southern 500 race weekend on May 11-12.
For every adult ticket sold the week of March 12-18 (Monday thru Sunday) to either the Sprint Cup Series Southern 500 or Nationwide Series VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200, Darlington Raceway will make a $2 donation per ticket to support the VFW.
With numerous military bases and personnel stationed in South Carolina, Darlington Raceway fans and local communities are supportive of the U.S. Armed Forces and the veterans that have served our country since the track opened in 1950.
This opportunity will give fans the chance to support the VFW and our nation’s veterans, while also enjoying NASCAR’s best racing during the Sprint Cup Series Southern 500 or the Nationwide Series VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200, or both.
“We value our strong relationship with the VFW and Sport Clips Haircuts and are more than happy to donate $2 for every ticket sold next week to support their initiatives,” Darlington Raceway President Chris Browning said. “The military presence is well known in the state of South Carolina so to be able to give back to the veterans and active service members through the VFW makes this a win-win situation for everyone.”
Tickets for the Southern 500 and VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200 can be purchased by calling 866-459-7223or by visiting DarlingtonRaceway.com.
“The generosity extended to us by Darlington Raceway is deeply appreciated and will serve us well in our continued mission to provide support to America’s service men and women,” said VFW National Commander Richard DeNoyer. “We hold the Sport Clips Haircuts and Darlington Raceway communities in our highest regard and are proud to be associated with them.”
Traditionally, Sport Clips Haircuts’ annual Help a Hero fundraiser supports the VFW’s Operation Uplink free call day program; however, proceeds from Darlington ticket sales will go to support this important program and others, such as Unmet Needs, the Military Assistance Program, and the National Veterans Service:
VFW's Operation Uplink: Launched in 1996, VFW Operation Uplink™ is the premier calling program for deployed service members that provides free phone time to active-duty military personnel and hospitalized veterans. Since its start in 2006, Operation Uplink has provided more than 6.1 million free connections for service members and their families.
VFW's Unmet Needs: VFW Unmet Needs was created in 2004 through a corporate partnership to assist military service members and their families who run into unexpected financial difficulties with basic life needs such as mortgage and rent, home and auto repairs, insurance, utilities, food and clothing. Unmet Needs helps meet unanticipated financial demands on our service members’ families that can’t be remedied through existing means and provides our service members with the security of knowing that their families have additional support here at home.
VFW's Military Assistance Program: The VFW Military Assistance Program (MAP) is the outstretched hand between the VFW and the local military, offering VFW’s support around the world. In the last five years, MAP has sponsored events supporting over one million service members and their families. A large part of MAP includes the Adopt-a-Unit program, adopting hundreds of military units around the world, developing supportive relationships with units before, during and after deployments to help deliver the vast network of resources VFW has available for the military.
VFW's National Veterans Service: Each year, the nationwide network of VFW Service Officers assists more than 120,000 veterans nationwide. From assisting veterans in filing for disability compensation to requesting hearings before the VA Board of Appeals, these skilled professionals garner over a billion dollars in compensation benefits for veterans annually.
About Sport Clips Haircuts:Sport Clips Haircuts, with more than 850 locations nationwide, is headquartered in Georgetown, Texas and was established in 1995 by founder and CEO Gordon Logan. The franchise ranks in Entrepreneur Magazine’s top 20 “fastest growing franchises” and in the top 100 in the “Franchise 500”, in the top 10 in Forbes’ “Top 20 Franchises To Start”, and in the top 50 in Dun & Bradstreet’s AllBusiness.com “2012 AllBusiness AllStars”. Sport Clips is the “Official Haircutter” of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and offers veterans preferential pricing on haircuts and franchises. Our “Help a Hero”program has donated more than a million dollars to help soldiers overseas and in hospitals call home through the VFW’s Operation Uplink. Sport Clips is a proud sponsor of Joe Gibbs Racing’s NASCAR drivers, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin, and holds partnerships with several NCAA programs, and teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Baseball (MLB), and National Hockey League (NHL). To learn about franchise opportunities click here, and for locations throughout the United States, visit SportClips.com. For media resources and additional information on Sport Clips, visit SportClipsMedia.com.
About Darlington Raceway: Darlington Raceway, or the track Too Tough To Tame as it is known to many, is where the purest of NASCAR competition meets true southern hospitality. A NASCAR staple since 1950, Darlington Raceway has seen some of motorsports most talented drivers thunder to Gatorade Victory Lane. On Mother’s Day weekend, May 11-12, 2012, NASCAR’s biggest stars return to battle the track Too Tough To Tame in the Sprint Cup Series Southern 500® and Nationwide Series VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200.
You can keep up with all of the latest news from Darlington Raceway at DarlingtonRaceway.com, on Facebook at Facebook.com/DarlingtonRaceway and on Twitter at Twitter.com/TooToughToTame.