The Origins of The RAACE Foundation
The RAACE Foundation was conceived by Baltimore area businessman Kenneth Smith in 2004. Kenneth created The RAACE Foundation and dedicated it to raising public awareness of child sexual abuse with the vision to better educate the public regarding misconceptions and misunderstandings of the nature and prevalence of child sexual abuse. But the thought did not just come to him overnight. It began with Kenneth actively seeking a way to get more involved in his community.

From Involvement Comes Enlightenment
It was in 1996 that Kenneth Smith began Construction Resources United (CRU), a turnkey framing outfit based in Forest Hills, MD. As CRU grew and enjoyed success, Kenneth began to feel the need to contribute to the community that he felt had given so much to him. In an effort to fulfill that need, Kenneth became involved with several local charities including the Ed Block Courage Award Foundation, an organization dedicated to ending the cycle of child abuse. As his involvement in these organizations grew, so did his understanding of the many challenges and threats that face children today. Like many, Kenneth was conscious of the existence of child abuse. He understood intellectually that many unfortunate children were innocently suffering. But it was not until he met these defenseless children, and spoke with the professionals that worked with them, that he was able to internalize the extent of the problem.

He had heard shocking numbers such as 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 7 boys will experience some form of sexual abuse before the age of 18. But in his visits to treatment centers he didn’t see numbers, he saw people. Little people that had been robbed of their innocence and left with emotional scars that they would carry for life. He was amazed that such an extensive problem could exist, yet so few people seemed to be aware of it. He knew that he had remained ignorant to the facts for years, and wondered how many more were as ill informed.

Seeking to learn and do more, Kenneth attended a multitude of programs and fundraisers and along the way he attended the Illuminations program. It was this program that would inspire him to make a bold move.

A Heartbreaking Story Inspires
Illuminations is a sexual abuse information program that tells the story of Justin and Matt Wilke, two Baltimore boys sexually abused over the course of several years by their summer camp counselor. The story is told through a series of paintings, photographs, poetry, and journal entries that the boys were encouraged to create by Illuminations director, Father Ray Chase. Kenneth was moved by the story of the Wilkes. Through the program, he began to understand the extent of mental and emotional torment that the boys had suffered and to see a glimpse of the anguish the boys had endured. Tragically, the Wilke men (Justin, Matt and their father) were pushed to suicide from the experience, unable to reconcile the violation they had been victims to.

It was not the uniqueness of the Wilke story that struck Kenneth but rather its commonness. Through the Illuminations program and from his visits to the St. Vincent’s Center, a treatment facility for children that have been neglected and abused, Kenneth saw first hand the devastating affects of child sexual abuse and how emotionally devastating it could be. But more, he saw that cases of child sexual abuse were not isolated incidents.

Kenneth was so inspired by the program that he asked Fr. Chase what he could do to help. Fr. Chase’s response was simple, “Tell people.” So Kenneth did just that. He began to solicit his friends and colleagues to attend Illuminations as well, feeling they should be aware of the injury many children were silently suffering. He brought CRU staff members through and began to talk more openly about the issue of child sexual abuse among his family, friends and co-workers. In doing so recognized two things: 1) the necessity of talking about child sexual abuse as a function of prevention and healing and 2) people’s reluctance to do so.

This insight helped Kenneth realized that something would have to be created in order to encourage people to breakdown the wall of social taboo and talk to their children, and each other, about child sexual abuse. Kenneth believed there needed to be something that could raise the subject of child sexual abuse in a way that was non-intrusive, allowing people to approach it on their own terms, but that was also very difficult to ignore so that it would not be missed. Something that would serve as a vehicle for the message.

The Racing Connections
Long before Kenneth became involved with the plight of abused children, the Smith family had been involved in professional racing. Kenneth’s brother Steve Smith Sr. left the family’s Florida home in the 1960s to travel to Pennsylvania to compete within what was then, and is to this day, the epicenter of the Sprint Car World. In his career he totaled hundreds of wins and was honored with induction into the Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2000. Steve’s son, Steve Smith Jr., better known as Stevie, followed in his father’s impressive footsteps and began racing at age 16. At age 18 he was named the World of Outlaws series Rookie of the Year and since that time, over his nearly quarter century career, Stevie has racked up enough wins to put him on the top 10 winng list of all time on the World of Outlaws circuit. Between the two of them, the father and son duo have over three hundred feature wins and are considered legends in the sprint car racing community.

It is the success and notoriety garnered by his brother and nephew that helped Kenneth see an opportunity to get his message to a huge audience and to do it in a way that would satisfy the two requirements he knew it needed to be a success: non-intrusive and highly visible. It was from this connection and insight that The RAACE Foundation was born.

The Function of The RAACE Foundation
The RAACE Foundation is motivated by the vision that raising public awareness of child sexual abuse will, in turn, contribute to the reduction of instances of sexual abuse committed. The RAACE Foundation does not believe that simple awareness is enough to eradicate this complex and difficult issue, but instead that awareness is the first step to invoking social change.

How the RAACE Foundation is Designed to Work
Headed by a three person Board of Directors and a minimal staff designed to reduce overhead, volunteers provide the predominance of manpower for achieving the main focus of The RAACE Foundation. That purpose is the development and expansion of public awareness of the realities of child sexual abuse.

It can be casually observed that child sexual abuse is considered by many to be a taboo subject and as such it is seldom discussed. The RAACE Foundation is keenly aware of how the perpetuation of this taboo equates directly to the detriment of children and contributes to the continued violation of our most defenseless citizens. The RAACE Foundation is grounded in the understanding that the general public is misinformed about the true nature of child sexual abuse.

It is the view of The RAACE Foundation that the perception of child sexual abuse as an act that is seldom perpetrated and when it is, is done so by those unknown to their victims, is not only inaccurate but also dangerous. Inaccurate because statistics indicate that in 90% of cases the victim knows and trusts the abuser and dangerous because it aids in perpetuating an environment fertile for the continuance and propagation of abuse. The RAACE Foundation endeavors to breakdown these misconceptions and, through its various communication tactics, to foster a continually expanding society of volunteers actively spreading The RAACE Foundation message.

TeamRAACE and The RAACE Foundation
Ones interests and/or activities function as a community, a forum, and a stage for The RAACE Foundation. The RAACE Foundation has a message to broadcast in a mass market manner with limited funds. Put simply, TeamRAACE is a very efficient way to disseminate a message when that message is supported by the right individuals. Ones interests and activities also have the unique ability to communicate a message within a gathering of people, even though that message is not the cause of the gathering.

This makes TeamRAACE an unmatched community in which to raise awareness of child sexual abuse by circumventing many social taboos. It brings the issue into the light and says: “Here is an important threat to our children, let’s talk about it,” while minimizing any sense of being pushy or intrusive, a perception that could be counterproductive.

The TeamRAACE Family
The RAACE Foundation works hard to maintain a presence and a voice at race tracks, soccer fields, baseball stadiums and at many other events & venues across the nation, but in order to have a presence there, The RAACE Foundation has created TeamRAACE.

TeamRAACE began with a single racing team consisting of the #19, 410 Sprinter driven by Stevie Smith and crewed by Steve Smith Sr. Since that time TeamRAACE has grown to include over 35 teams and individuals competing in various other sports and activities.

However, while The RAACE Foundation works directly with TeamRAACE, The RAACE Foundation does not sponsor any drivers, teams or individuals. Participating drivers, teams and individuals represent The RAACE Foundation on a volunteer basis with the permission and guidance of The RAACE Foundation.

It is the goal of The RAACE Foundation to continue to grow TeamRAACE, as TeamRAACE provides the opportunities needed to explain the nature of the problem. An open door to communication is the first step. Because your interests and activities have the power to expose the hidden epidemic of child sexual abuse, The RAACE Foundation can educate adults so no child has to suffer the same silent fate. The RAACE Foundation, TeamRAACE and those who support their goal to Race Against Abuse of Children Everywhere know that until every child is safe from abuse our RAACE has no finish line.

The RAACE Foundation’s Work To Date
Since The RAACE Foundation’s creation in 2004, it has been working diligently to achieve its mission and vision. To date The RAACE Foundation has produced and distributed hundreds of thousands of pieces of awareness materials, has had RAACE dedicated teams compete in over 500 events and made countless visual impressions on millions of fans via the involvement of TeamRAACE. The RAACE Foundation has also maintained a viable and effective web presence, been the feature of multiple magazine and newspaper articles as well as grown its TeamRAACE program nearly 10 fold.

How the RAACE Foundation is Funded
The RAACE Foundation is wholly funded by private donations. The RAACE Foundation receives no federal or state funding but is instead supported by those that believe in the continuance of its mission and the actualization of its vision. The RAACE Foundation is currently seeking sponsorship of its efforts and welcomes inquires from all those with resources to contribute.

100% of all donations go toward funding The RAACE Foundation’s core mission to raise awareness of child sexual abuse throughout the nation with the distribution of awareness materials, decals and signage, the conducting of onsite awareness events, the delivery of helpful and informative email newsletters as well as the maintenance and production of this Web site. All of the funds raised go to help children grow up to lead happy, healthy, and productive adult lives.

The RAACE Foundation’s Vision of The Future
“Until Every Child Is Safe From Abuse, Our Race Has No Finish Line” is more than just a slogan for The RAACE Foundation, it is a coalescence of its mission and vision. Certainly, to protect every child on the planet from sexual abuse is a lofty, and perhaps even unattainable goal but The RAACE Foundation cannot accept less, either philosophically or practically.

In pursuit of this goal The RAACE Foundation aspires to obtain the involvement and support of everyone. The only way to protect children from the horrors of sexual abuse is awareness.

It is the stance of The RAACE Foundation that the fundamental objective of eliminating child sexual abuse from ever occurring to any child should find acceptance within the belief system of every member of society. With this in mind The RAACE Foundation endeavors to continue to Race Against Abuse of Children Everywhere and to garner the support in this effort of every racer, athlete, team, professional, business, ministry and individual worldwide.