Carmen Racing's Trophy Drive

[Tracy57]

Attention Friends and Family,

Over the past few weeks, we have been working a project that we hope will be ongoing. We will be conducting a “Trophy Drive” on Friday September 23rd at the Bath Farmers’ market, Saturday September 24th at the Season of Hope Benefit Breakfast in Bethlehem and on Sunday September 25th at Grandview Speedway. More drop-off locations are TBA.

Many People win trophies over the years and eventually, they collect dust and get thrown in the back of a closet or (worse yet) a landfill. :( Well, we are collecting them, cleaning them up, taking off the brass plates and buying (out of our own pockets) new plates that say “Way to Go!” on them. They will then be distributed to the Lehigh Valley Hospital’s Children’s Outpatient Cancer Center (Bethlehem, PA)- Hopefully over time, we will be adding more centers- awarded to kids battling cancer which will make their day a little brighter. Remember how proud you were when you got that trophy? Think of how a child would feel when they get one for THEIR accomplishments battling cancer. You get to de-clutter, recycle and put a smile on a child’s face.

Our goal is to collect 300 trophies- so far we have 33 of them. :cheers:

We are also in the process of coordinating a few fun events at the hospital for these brave kids as well. We were thinking of a racing theme party where drivers can come in their suits and give out autographs, etc. Probably begining of the year. If you would like to help, either by trophy donation or manpower, let us know.

[BIGDADDY64]

tracy i can donate some ill bring to next race

[glassmanjtf]

Let me know how i can help dont have any trophies but would like to help out

Joe Farley #37

[rgarner]

I have a few trophys I would be more then willing to give to this cause. Please let me know when and where I can drop them off. :D

[punchy]

I might be able to get a few from some people I know, let me know when to get them to you!

[Tracy57]

Don't forget about the Trophy Drive at the next race... Some have asked if we only take certain ones- the answer is NO- we will take any trophy. So far we have from racing, bowling, beauty pageants, soccer, baseball and the list is growing. :cheers:
We are glad to report our first permanent drop off location- The Home News Office at 4685 Lehigh Drive in Walnutport during normal business hours.

[glassmanjtf]

Like i said before i don't have any trophys but would like to help in any way, helping giving them out or getting them there,:wave: you just let me know i will help

Joe Farley #37 Glassmanjtf

[Tracy57]

Thank you to everyone who gave trophies today... We had soooo many in the back of the truck, we had to go home and get the minivan to pick up my son! You all are awesome- If we missed anyone, we will be collecting at the next race too. Stay tuned to facebook's "Trophy Drive" for updates on how close we are to reaching our goal!

[CJfilms]

Tracy, when do you plan on giving out the trophies at the hospital....are there any limits on how many people can attend and IF we get a few drivers there....they should be wearing their racing suits right?

I know of a few people who would like to make a guest appearance!!! ;)

[glassmanjtf]

Consider me available for anything you to help out those brave little kids:wave:

[Tracy57]

As of right now, we are way over our goal of 300 and its very possible that we will hit 500! :cheers:

Lehigh Valley Hospital Childrens Cancer Center will take 150, St. Christophers (Philadelphia) will take 75 for their talent show that the cancer patients have on October 21st, Hershey Medical Center will take 20 (for now) and Johns Hopkins Cancer Center (Baltimore) is definitely interested and will let me know how many later in the week.

I also have calls into CHOPS (Philadelphia), Miami Childrens Hospital (FL) and of course St. Jude (TN)- if anyone has any contacts at these places, let me know.

We will be accepting trophies at the next race but will stop taking them after we start cleaning them- possibly next Friday. We will know more this Thursday night when I go to a meeting to see if members will let me borrow the hall for free. Joe, thank you soooo... much for the getting the tags. It's one less thing for me to worry about.

We will still take any kind of trophies regarless of size (I received some that are 4' high!) but are specifically looking for girl trophies- pageants, cheerleading, dance, etc. since we are a little low on those.

Like "Trophy Drive" on Facebook for more updates...

We will soo you all on Sunday! :wave:

[Tracy57]

We will be cleaning and fixing the trophies on Friday October 21st at The East Bath Rod & Gun Club in Bath from 3-9pm. I'm going to need a lot of help. Larry is calculating 100 man hours.
1. Looking for anyone who has a covered bed truck or trailer to transport trophies to the club- preferably in the early afternoon. Also need strong people to load the trucks/ trailers since they are not light.
2. Need people to log, clean, take apart and pack trophies. Bring 7/16" nut drivers, windex, "goof off", spatulas, razor blades, and WD40 for cleaning.
3. We will need stackable rubbermaid containers, boxes about 24" long), packaging materials (bubble wrap, newspaper, packing tape, etc.)
4. We are looking for anyone who would like to keep the volunteers fed- a lot are helping right after work so they may not go home to eat.
You can drop in for an hour or stay until we are done. I know a lot were interested in helping hopefully, you can find some time to help.
If anyone knows of anybody that works at a Childrens Hospital, or has contacts, let me know since I'm "cold calling" right now and just hoping I get to the right person.
We are also looking for people or businesses that can help with the cost of shipping trophies to some of the hospitals either by printing a shipping label or monetary donation. The list of hospitals is growing. Stay tuned to the "Trophy Drive" page on facebook for more information. (and "like it" too). If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.

[Tracy57]

Is there anyone- drivers/ non-drivers interested in delivering trophies from Bath to St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in Philadelphia before 4pm on Friday? They have a talent show that night and its also the same day as the trophy cleaning night here in Bath.

[Tracy57]

Larry and I want to take the time to thank everyone who helped on Friday Night. Thanks to the East Bath Rod & Club for letting us use the hall, Jim for transporting the trophies, Scott who drove to St. Christophers in Philadelphia to deliver 75 trophies Friday night, friends, and family- you know who you are! A BIG, BIG, BIG THANK YOU goes out to about 50 boy scouts and their parents of Boy Scout troop 33 of Bath who cleaned, assembled, packed up many of the trophies ready for Lehigh Valley Hospital, Miami Childrens Hospital, Hershey Medical Center, and Dupont. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

[Tracy57]

A nice article was written about "Trophy Drive" in The Morning Call today. Here is the website link for the article...

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/northampton-sd/mc-bath-trophies-burbs-20111025,0,5856887.column

More trophies coming in... The "drop off" location said they were getting one person AN HOUR dropping off much needed girl trophies!

:cheers:

[richardpetey]

Tracy and Larry, I commend you for your efforts on behalf of these unfortunate children...............................:applause:
Its people like you who make this world a much better place, THANK YOU...................................:cool:
UNCLE PETEY........................................:wave : :wave: :wave: :wave: :wave:

[Tracy57]

For those of you who are not "facebook enabled", I'm posting on here.
We stopped counting at 1,200 trophies in November. :cheers:
We are placing calls around the country to see which other hospitals would be interested in giving trophies to their patients. This is now a NATIONAL project. NEETS stickers go on the bottom of every trophy too! The following have been added to the list during the past two weeks.

Akron Children's Hospital (OH)
Arkansas Children's Hospital
Sacred Heart Medical Center (OR)
Kentucky Children's Hospital
Hasbro Children's Hospital (RI)
East Tennessee Children's Hopsital
Shriners Hospital Boston, Los Angeles, Portland (OR), and Springfield (MA)

We are NOT taking any more trophies at this time. If you have some to donate, you need to contact me to go on a 'waiting list'- so far theres about 800 on there. When a hospital is looking for a specific size or type (or when we get low on supply), we will contact the ones on the waiting list- no longer have public trophy drives.

What we need right now is help with shipping. It costs about $20-$60 to ship trophies to a hospital- depending on size and quanity. Even if its $5- it will help! Checks can be sent to Trophy Drive, PO Box 13, Bath, PA 18014 or to First Star Bank 358 South Walnut Street, Bath PA 18014

I know times are tough and we are spending money working on our cars getting them ready for 2012- but every bit helps- if every driver gives just $1, we can have a few hospitals have trophies for thier kids.

Also, if you are 'facebook enabled' be sure to "Like" us on Trophy Drive!

Any questions, feel free to send me a private message or call me.
Looking forward to racing with you all in a few short months!