The Ryan Newman Foundation

Daytona, FL, February 14, 2007--“Everyone had a lot of heart at the Halifax Humane Society’s 10th Annual NASCAR Memorabilia Auction”, states Toni Sanders, HHS Special Events Director. This event held on Valentine’s Day, had over 200 attendees bidding on top rate NASCAR Memorabilia items. Whether people came alone or as couples, it didn’t matter because everyone found something to love at this auction.

One of the highlights of the evening was the attendance of Alltel driver #12 Ryan Newman and his wife Krissie. They made time to autograph their book “Pit Road Pets” and mingle among the crowds of people before Ryan joined the auctioneer on stage to help get the highest bid on his memorabilia items during the live auction.

Between the silent and live portion of this event alone, there were over 240 items to choose from including jackets, beautifully framed photos, crew shirts, uniforms, flags, diecast cars, caps, sheet metal and more. Over 98% of these items were autographed by the drivers! The item with the highest bid for the night at $8,500 was a race package to the Allstate 400 at Indy. This package four tickets to the race, hotel accommodations for four, police escort to Speedway, garage and pit credentials. Sanders adds, “people seemed very pleased with their winning items and it showed. This event successfully netted over $45,000 that will be directly applied to caring for the thousands of animals that enter HHS each year”.
It takes a lot of planning and hard work to orchestrate a fundraiser like this, but much of the success is due to the support and contributions from many different areas. Starting with Alana and Amy France who’s passion to help their community’s often forgotten victims, homeless and abused animals, this event was
destined to succeed. HHS volunteers also share a lot of the load along with volunteers from local businesses such as Target and Sun Trust Bank. Volunteer auctioneer Don Dennett and his staff along with Embry Riddle Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity has actually been with us since our first event 10 years ago and faithfully returns each time. “Actually there is a very long list of people to thank including the hundreds of NASCAR fans who attend our auction and in our eyes, each one of them has a heart of gold” adds Sanders.

Donations to the Ryan Newman Foundation can be made online or mailed to:
Rosalie De Fini
Executive Director
Ryan Newman Foundation, Inc.
PO Box 5998
Statesville, NC 28687
The Ryan Newman Foundation is not accepting unsolicited grant proposals at this time. Please continue to check back for updated information on our grant making program. The Ryan Newman Foundation is unable to make grants directly to individuals or families. Please read the Autograph Policy if you have an autograph request. Thank you.