Students at Le Mesa Elementary Race to Better Health
Monterey, CA. May 9th, The Austin Hatcher Foundation & The American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón will be bringing Level 5 Motorsports driver Marino Franchitti as well as 17 year old rookie Tristan Nunez from Tech Motorsports to La Mesa Elementary in Monterey, Calif., prior to racing at Laguna Seca. Franchitti and Nunez, alongside the Austin Hatcher Foundation, will teach the importance of healthy lifestyles through the foundations health education program — “Fueling Potential: Racing to Win”
The program is designed in collaboration with the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s Department of Health and Human Performance and Lee University’s Department of Education. It uses kid-friendly car imagery to teach children about nutrition, exercise, sun safety and the dangers of tobacco, relating the fuel needed to keep cars racing to the smart choices needed to keep bodies healthy.
“Studies show that many adult cancer cases could have been prevented with simple lifestyle changes,” says Amy Jo Osborn, Co-Founder of the Austin Hatcher Foundation. “Through ‘Fueling Potential: Racing to Win,’ we want to empower children to make the healthy choices now that will greatly reduce their risk of cancer later in life.”
Dyson Racing is hosting a live auction at 1:10 p.m., on race day, immediately following the ALMS autograph session. The auction is open to all fans and proceeds benefit the Austin Hatcher Foundation.
The American Le Mans Series and the Austin Hatcher Foundation continue the “Fueling Potential: Racing to Win” campaign with activities planned throughout the 2013 season, including hospital and school visits, team auctions, and Driver Pro-Am Golf Tournament and Motorcycle Charity Ride in October. For more information visit hatcherfoundation.org
The “Fueling Potential: Racing to Win” campaign provides families affected by pediatric cancer with the emotional and educational “fuel” to ensure that each family member reaches his or her maximum potential as a cancer survivor and ultimately “Win Life’s Race.”
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The Austin Hatcher Foundation for Pediatric Cancer’s mission is to erase the effects of pediatric cancer and optimize each child’s quality of life through essential specialized intervention beginning at the time of diagnosis and continuing throughout survivorship. The Foundation provides services to children with cancer, as well as their families, in association with Pediatric Oncology centers and through the Foundation’s cancer care center, Hatch’s House of Hope. The Foundation provides all services at no cost to the families. Services are funded solely by the generous donations of supporters. For more information, visit www.hatcherfoundation.org.
Healthy Lifestyle Division of Austin Hatcher Foundation
The Healthy Lifestyle division is to equip children with the knowledge necessary to make healthy lifestyle choices while reducing their risk of cancer tomorrow. The division addresses four key risk factors that contribute to 65% of all adult cancer diagnosis. The four risk factors addressed are: nutrition, tobacco prevention, exercise and sun safety (skin cancer prevention). The “Fueling Potential: Racing to Win” program which teaches children in grades K-5 to imagine their bodies as a race car and provides four interactive teaching stations. Children learn how to provide their race car with the best fuel (by choosing appropriate foods), keep their engine strong (by exercising appropriately), providing optimal performance (saying no to tobacco products) and by keeping their car bright and shiny (taking the appropriate sun safety precautions).