The Nature Conservancy and The Chill Foundation are the first two charities selected for the 2012 Jimmie Johnson Foundation Blue Bunny Helmet of Hope, which Johnson will wear in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Infineon Raceway on June 24, 2012.
Each organization will also receive a grant of $10,000 and a special Blue Bunny ice cream party.
Mike Hembree, of SPEED.com, nominated The Nature Conservancy, an organization whose mission is to protect ecologically important lands and waters in all 50 states.
“The Nature Conservancy protects important and endangered lands and waters across the globe, primarily by purchasing at-risk sites and conserving and enhancing their resources,” Hembree wrote on his nomination form. “This allows all people to appreciate and enjoy some of Earth’s special places.”
The Chill Foundation, which provides opportunities for at-risk and underserved youth to build self-esteem and life skills through board sports, was nominated by Manuel Zetino of Tustin, Calif.
Manuel had an opportunity to serve as a coordinator for The Chill Foundation’s Los Angeles program last winter. “Chill serves kids from inner city neighborhoods, foster care, youth in recovery and many other amazing groups,” he wrote. “Once a week for six weeks, they hop on a bus to Mountain High to learn to snowboard as well as lessons they can use at home. For some of these kids it’s their first time seeing snow and for some their first time playing outside at night. Seeing the progression in their riding and attitudes was an absolutely humbling experience.”
The Helmet of Hope program, which began in 2008, allows fans, consumers and media members across the country to nominate their favorite charity to receive a $10,000 grant, special recognition on Johnson’s race helmet and a Blue Bunny ice cream party. To date, the program has contributed more than $300,000 to 49 different charities across the United States.
This year’s Blue Bunny Helmet of Hope campaign will run for six consecutive Sprint Cup race weekends beginning at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway in April. Johnson will draw one winner from a list of media submissions and one from a list of fan submissions each race weekend through the Darlington (S.C.) event in May. Nature Conservancy and Chill Foundation join the United Way of Siouxland, which was selected by the program’s title sponsor, Blue Bunny Ice Cream, as charities that will be featured on the Blue Bunny Helmet of Hope.
Fans and media members may nominate their charity by visiting www.helmetofhope.org. For more information about the most recently selected charities visit www.nature.org and www.chill.org.
Jimmie Johnson Foundation
