Brad Brickel
Monday, September 05, 2011
Forest Hill, MD – When The RAACE Foundation first heard the announcement that a major motorsports event would be coming to its own back yard - Baltimore, MD, everyone knew this was a must attend event for the organization. Not because of the rich history The RAACE Foundation has in motorsports, but for the need to be at large events to truly make a difference in the Race Against Abuse of Children Everywhere.
Without the insight and vision of Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, the region, the city and The RAACE Foundation would not have had the chance to affect so many people. Who would have thought that just a short year and a half after Mayor Blake spun the “Giant Wheel” at BuilderMart 2010 would the 150,000 people attending the Inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix realize that it was time for them to talk about child abuse with The RAACE Foundation.
It was not until the spring of 2011 when Jay Davidson of The Baltimore Grand prix said to The RAACE Foundation’s Founder Kenneth Smith: “Don’t worry about the details, The Grand Prix needs to educate its fans about your program – plan on being here”, did plans start in earnest to bring The Foundation’s giant “Time to Talk” Awareness Station to downtown Baltimore.
By mid-summer The RAACE Foundation had secured a titles sponsor for the Grand Prix in Harford County builder – Korey Homes as well as the many other sponsors needed to print and distribute copies of The Time to Talk Parents Guide to Preventing Child Sexual Abuse to all race attendee’s. 84 Lumber and 84 Components, Rider Insurance, Jarvis Appliance, Maryland Concrete Foundations Inc., The American Racing Mower Association, Area Auto Racing News, Schmitz Press, Kristine Smith-North & Christopher J. Salon, Party Party, Weikel Sportswear, Green Flag Home Improvement’s, Bel Air Carpet, Durham Construction, Harford Rental, The Baltimore Child Abuse Center, Horne Concrete, Leavitt Building Group and The Donate Your Ride for RAACE Program all thought it was necessary to get involved to take a stand against child abuse.
Then it was on to finding the 90+ volunteers that it would take to man The RAACE Foundations Awareness Station and Kids Big Wheel track. But thankfully volunteers jumped at the chance to help The RAACE Foundation spread its mission of Child Sexual Abuse Awareness at the biggest event the city has ever seen. The RAACE Foundation knows that gifts of time are just as important as donations of cash and are truly thankful for the hard work, dedication, and the friendly smiles shared with grand prix race fans this past weekend. Without volunteers like you our success would not have been so staggering!
And on the region of Baltimore… words cannot express how welcome you made everyone at The RAACE Foundation feel. From the can do attitude to getting us in and out of the city, the efforts of The Baltimore Police Department to keep us safe and secure and all of the wonderful and helpful grand prix volunteers that made the event smooth for all of us at The RAACE Foundation we say thank you.
To the Baltimore Grand Prix event organizers and staff your hard work has been rewarded! From our vantage points in The Family Fun Zone on Charles Street and The Kids Big Wheel Races on Light Street your event was truly world class and top notch and a huge smash for locals, race fans and tourists alike. The RAACE Foundation would like to acknowledge the efforts of Jay Davidson, Lonnie Fisher, Seth Foster, ChiChi Nyagah-Nash and the rest of the Baltimore Grand Prix management team – you made it possible for The RAACE Foundation to take a huge step forward toward fulfilling our vision. Imagine if the efforts we all made this past weekend could possibly save a child’s life? To The RAACE Foundation our volunteers and sponsors, it was all worth it! To that child – it was invaluable.
Thank you everyone for an awesome party in downtown Baltimore! Congratulations to TeamPenske and Will Power for your victory in the IndyCar race. Congratulations to Oryx Dyson Racing, and drivers Steven Kane and Humaid Al Masaood who scored their first wins in the inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix; also – GT winners, Team Falken Tire which earned its second victory of the season with Wolf Henzler and Bryan Sellers at the helm.
From all media accounts across the globe, The Inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix was a huge hit and The RAACE Foundation is looking forward to being an even bigger part of the event in 2012! That being said – if you would like your company to be on the “Giant Wheel” at the 2012 Baltimore Grand Prix, contact Brad Brickel at 410-893-1001. If you would like to volunteer please visit: http://www.raace.org/volunteer.html.
