NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 27: Vice chairman of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing Mike Helton, Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award winner Andy Hoffman and President and Chief Executive Officer of Jon Hall Automotive Group Glenn Ritchey attend First Annual NASCAR Foundation Honors Gala on September 27, 2016 in New York City. Photo by Mike Stobe/NASCAR via Getty Images
Andy Hoffman, founder of the Nebraska-based Team Jack Foundation dedicated to funding pediatric brain cancer research, was the recipient of The NASCAR Foundation’s sixth annual Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award presented by Nationwide on Tuesday night, during The Foundation’s inaugural Honors Gala at the Marriott Marquis.
This year’s award presentation is the highlight of the “10 Years of Giving” celebration for The NASCAR Foundation, which has donated approximately $25 million to impact the lives of children since its inception in 2006. The Honors Gala raised more than $1.6 million to benefit hospitalized children across the country through the recently established Speediatrics Children’s Fund.
The award is presented to a NASCAR fan who has done outstanding work on behalf of children in need in their community. The award honors the philanthropic ideals of the late Betty Jane France, who started The NASCAR Foundation in 2006.
The NASCAR Foundation will donate $100,000 to “Team Jack,” which was founded by Hoffman and his wife Brianna in 2013, two years after their son was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Team Jack works to raise research funds and create national awareness of pediatric brain cancer.
Hoffman, from Atkinson, Nebraska, was chosen via an online fan vote on NASCAR.com.
“I am humbled to have won the Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award,” Hoffman said. “Receiving this award is truly a reflection of all of those amazing people that helped support the Team Jack Foundation since day one. Winning this award, literally, could be the difference between life or death for a child someday. Our hope is that the $100,000 donation will provide the seed money for us to help fund yet another clinical trial.”
There were three other finalists for the award; each will receive $25,000 from The NASCAR Foundation for the charity they represent. Those finalists: Jim Giaccone of Bayville, New York, representing the New York-based Tuesday’s Children organization; Logan Houptley of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, a founding member of the Mikayla’s Voice organization in Nazareth, Pennsylvania; and Parker White of Greensboro, North Carolina, founder of BackPack Beginnings.