Racing for Heroes Awarded Grant from Sports Car Club of America Foundation to Support Motorsports Therapy Program

Alton, VA, November 06, 2020 --(PR.com)-- Racing for Heroes is pleased to announce the award of a grant from the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Foundation to enhance the Motorsports Therapy Program to be more inclusive for veterans that are severely disabled. The grant provides funds to modify a CS6 Corvette racecar with the necessary harnesses, seating, and roll cage to allow for veterans with severe mobility issues to ride in the passenger seat at the Racing for Heroes Headquarters facility co-located at Virginia International Raceway.

“The SCCA Foundation is proud to support Racing for Heroes and their desire to help veterans with the unseen wounds of war through their motorsports programming, especially this effort to help profoundly impacted veterans get on the track,” said Arnie Coleman, Executive Director of the SCCA Foundation and retired USAF Senior Master Sergeant, “as a veteran myself and avid driver I understand the impact that racing can have at a personal level.”

“This will absolutely make a difference in enabling profoundly disabled veterans’ access to racing through our Motorsports Therapy programming,” said Mike Evock, Founder of Racing for Heroes and CWO3 U.S. Army (Ret.). “The SCCA Foundation grant funding will bring that vision to reality in the coming months. We have a lot of sweat equity through our community of veterans, so this grant really enables us to take advantage of that effort with the right parts and equipment we need to make it happen.”

The cornerstone of the Motorsports Therapy Program is to build a sense of task and purpose around motorsports. This program is designed to create a sense of camaraderie, mission focus, and an adrenaline rush comparable to a veteran’s time in service. In many veterans lives this is a missing element following transition and RFH’s program is used to reproduce that experience in a way that is sustainable for the veteran.

“This grant will help us expose so many more veterans looking to experience racing,” said Adam Benaway, veteran and three-time SCCA Solo Spec Coupe National Champion, “We appreciate this significant expansion of the opportunities we will be able to offer our veterans through this grant. Speaking as a driver, I am able to recreate the focus and adrenaline rush that I feel in uniform. This grant will allow us to allow significantly combat injured veterans to experience the racetrack in a safe controlled environment, many who are suffering from the unseen wounds of war as well.”

“This is the first step toward modifying donated race vehicles to accommodate veterans who are severely affected by war,” said Dr. Brett Morash, RFH executive director. “We are looking to increase the effectiveness of this program by including veterans who traditionally would not be able to participate in motorsports.” Morash went on to say, “Through the generosity of the SCCA Foundation we will be able to enable Phase I, with an eye toward Phase II which will include fully modifying the vehicle to allow those veterans to be behind the wheel themselves. The next step will be significantly more expensive, and we will modify another vehicle to meet safety and access standards, to that end we are earmarking the upcoming SCCA Central Carolina Fundraiser on November 14-15, 2020 for that purpose. SCCA CCF has supported us for the past three years and this will be critical to show them the efficacy of our programs.”

To learn more about RFH and how you can support its mission to help veterans visit racingforheroes.org.

About Racing for Heroes: Racing for Heroes is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that is committed to bringing awareness of the issues facing the veteran community. We accomplish this through impactful programs that enhance the bonds of the veteran community through racing, competition, motorsports, and outreach; complemented by our own and coordinated programs. We do this in order to allow veterans and their families to experience life to the fullest potential. For more information, please visit racingforheroes.org, or follow us on Facebook at @racingforheroes.

About the SCCA Foundation: The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Foundation is a 501c3 nonprofit whose Mission is to “establish and support programs that increase automotive education and safety, recognize excellence in automotive engineering education, preserve the SCCA’s history and heritage and enrich lives through participation in motorsports activities for the benefit of SCCA members, their communities, and the general public.” For more information about the Foundation and the programs it supports, visit sccafoundation.org or follow us on Facebook.