Truex was in attendance the first part of the night to mingle with guests and show his support for both causes. “This is definitely a special night for all the people that work hard at MTJF and for Sherry. She’s wanted to do something like this for a long time; to be able to host this party in her own store, she’s in heaven right now!,” said Truex. “I am proud to be a part of what’s going on at the Dove House and it’s been a pleasure getting to know Brenda and Jack.”

The Dove House is a non-profit child advocacy center that helps sexually abused children. One of the many missions of the MTJF is to help Dove House build their new state of the art facility in Statesville, NC; mortgage-free!

For more information on how you can help the Dove House or the MTJF, please visit www.dovehouse.us or www.martintruexjrfoundation.org.

Sign Up Your Company!
If your co-workers are as crazy about NASCAR as you are, then help get them wrapped up in the spirit of NASCAR Day by signing up your company to participate! When you sign up your company to participate in NASCAR Day, you will receive a Crew Chief kit free of charge. In your kit will come NASCAR Day pins in the amount you specify (in increments of 25), a Crew Chief Manual with ideas on how to celebrate at your office, envelopes for collecting and sending in your donations and posters for display in your office’s common areas. Encourage your co-workers to donate $5.00 for their commemorative NASCAR Day pin and return your collected donations and un-used pins at the end of the campaign. Don’t forget to enter MTJF into the ‘Charity Code’ section of the online sign-up form to designate your funds to Martin Truex Jr. Foundation.

Get Your Individual Pin!
Visit our website and click on the NASCAR Day logo to donate $5.00 online to get your NASCAR Day pin. Any online pin orders from our website will automatically be earmarked towards CHARITY NAME.

Call the NASCAR Day Telethon!
On Friday, May 16th, participate in the second-annual NASCAR Day Telethon by calling 1 (888) MAY16TH. Mention Martin Truex Jr. Foundation on the phone and 100% of your donation will benefit Martin Truex Jr. Foundation. More details to come!

Join us in making a difference by celebrating the
fifth-annual celebration of NASCAR Day on
Friday, May 16th!.

The highest bidder and a guest will receive round-trip air-fare courtesy of American Airlines, a two-night stay courtesy of the Hampton Inn & Suites in Mooresville, N.C., with fresh pretzels from The Pretzel Factory upon arrival at the hotel, a lunch provided by Dockside Deli (Truex’s favorite lunch spot on Lake Norman), dinner for two at Texas Steakhouse in Mooresville and a rental car provided by Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

The 27-year old driver of the Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet spends most of his off-time fishing on the banks of Lake Norman, often catching bass, striper and crappie. “It is great to be able to incorporate one of my favorite hobbies into the foundation. I am excited that we can help raise money for these kids doing something I love to do everyday,” said Truex. “And to have my sponsor Bass Pro Shops support this event and my foundation, is a wonderful thing to everyone at the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation.”

The MTJF is focused on helping children in need in Martin’s home state of New Jersey and hometown of Mooresville, N.C. For more information on the foundation and the project initiatives for 2008 or how you can donate, please visit www.martintruexjrfoundation.org.

The Philly Pretzel Factory opened its doors in Mooresville North Carolina in February of 2008. Specializing in hand twisted, freshly baked soft pretzels, served 7 days a week, this family owned and operated bakery is sure to be a hit in Mooresville!

George and Jill Heck, Gary and Suzanne Heck, and Diane and Bill Pisel (three siblings and their spouses) have relocated their families to Mooresville to bring a taste of Philly to the South. Bringing family together is one of their primary purposes along with their desire to give back to the community with an affordable, healthy snack option that everyone loves! The community of Mooresville was a natural fit!

Along with their standard soft pretzel, the Pretzel Factory also offers mini’s (a smaller version of their standard), rivets (bite-sized soft pretzel nuggets), pretzel hot dogs, and a spicy beef sausage pretzel. For entertaining they offer flavored pretzels on party trays that include sesame, poppy seed, garlic, salt and everything pretzels. Whether your needs are for a large fundraiser or a small party, they have a tasty solution that is sure to please everyone in your crowd.

The Philly Pretzel Factory is located in the Mooresville Crossing shopping center at 591-S River Hwy, directly across Highway 150 from the Target Supercenter. Their hours of operation are Monday-Saturday 8am – 8pm and Sundays from 10am to 5pm.

Stop by and pick up a box!

Jack Grossman, Fundraising Chairman for Dove House, explains, “The concept of “TAG, You’re It!” is easy; it starts with the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation “tagging” other NASCAR-related people, such as team owners, drivers, crew chiefs, etc. Martin’s foundation purchases the first engraved brick paver for $1,000, and a custom etched message is engraved in the 10” hexagonal paver to be placed in the walkways of the meditation gardens at the new Dove House facility.” Then new building project will break ground in April of this year. The pavers are also epoxy filled for resistance to weather and to prevent deterioration of the engraved message. Grossman continues, “The other people that are tagged are encouraged to join the campaign by purchasing a paver, and then tagging other people they know in the NASCAR community to do the same thing. It is similar to the pay-it-forward concept.” People can visit www.DoveHouse.us to see the results of the campaign; the website is updated as brick pavers are purchased.

“We are so excited about playing an integral part in this campaign,” says Kelly Janow, Executive Director of the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation. “It is a great way to raise a lot of money for a great cause. I’ve been to Dove House and have seen the work that they do firsthand… it is heart-breaking, but so necessary and so important to the children.” All proceeds from the “TAG, You’re It!” campaign go directly to the building fund. Dove House purchased 4 acres of land in 2007 to build a new 6,400 sq. ft. facility in order to better serve the children. “It is our hope to build this building without a mortgage, and this campaign will certainly help,” says Grossman. He hope to engage the entire community in supporting us through our fundraising events such as Rockin’ RibFest, which will be held on May 30 through June 1 at the Iredell County Fairgrounds in Troutman. For more information, visit www.DoveHouseRibFest.com, www.DoveHouse.us, or www.MartinTruexJrFoundation.org.

As you know, Dove House is a non-profit organization providing a safe and child-friendly facility that is supporting the investigation, prosecution and therapy / follow-up of all reported child sexual assault cases in Iredell and Alexander Counties in North Carolina. We have received over 982 cases since opening five years ago and have provided services to over 3,000 primary and secondary victims. Our current trend is approximately five new cases each week. Our community’s improved coordinated response, facilitated by Dove House, has resulted in much higher quality investigations, and we are experiencing an 87% successful prosecution rate – up from less than 20% prior to Dove House’s existence. Strong community and corporate support is a critical factor in our ability to serve these children who are suffering because of child sexual abuse, as well as providing an array of services to their non-offending family members. 

We were honored recently to host Kelly for a tour of Dove House during our first meeting with her. Martin, I hope that someday soon you, Sherry, and Sherry’s mother, can visit Dove House for a tour of our beautiful child-friendly facility so you can see first-hand the work that we perform daily towards improving the lives of children who have suffered because of child sexual abuse. 

Again, thank you for your concern for the safety and welfare of our children through your Foundation’s support of Dove House. We are continually blessed by the provision of financial needs through gracious donations such as yours, which allow us to continue to provide valuable services to child victims of sexual assault and their non-offending family members. 

Sincerely,
Brenda C. Deal, Executive Director

Please follow these two steps to fully maximize your contribution.

Step 1 – Individual

1. Use www.GiveBackAmerica.org every time you shop online
2. What purchase do I make today that can be done over the Internet?
  a. Toiletries – Drug store.com (via www.GiveBackAmerica.org)
  b. Electronics – Best Buy.com (via www.GiveBackAmerica.org)
3. Tell your friends about us using our “Six Degrees of Giving Program”
4. Save GiveBackAmerica.org to your favorites

Step 2 – Workplace
1. Encourage co-workers to use www.GiveBackAmerica.org
2. Look for Internet fund raising opportunities (www.GiveBackAmerica.org) at work
  a. Does your company book online travel?
  b. Does your company order online office supplies?

REMEMBER
* Visit www.GiveBackAmerica.org before you shop online
* Select “The Martin Truex Jr. Foundation” as your charity
* Shop from any one of the over 200 major retail stores

The foundation will match up to $10,000 in donations that fans contribute to the Red Kettle. All funds raised will go to assist the families and children in North Carolina and New Jersey. Please take a moment and visit us at Salvation Red Kettle

Help Make a difference during the Holiday Season! Every dollar collected will make a impact in a child’s life.

The Martin Truex Jr. Foundation will be hosting several fundraisers and mission projects during the 2008 race season. To participate in upcoming events please check out the official foundation website at www.martintruexjrfoundation.org. Help us Help Children through our fundraising efforts.

The foundation’s first project, Lil’ Bears for Lil’ Kids, has already become a huge success. With the help of Truex’s sponsor Bass Pro Shops donating 1,000 teddy bears, Martin’s fans and staff collected 850 stuffed animals to benefit the Dove House in Statesville, N.C. The Dove House is a non-profit organization that serves children who are sexually abused. For more information on how you can help the Dove House, please visit www.dovehouse.us.

“I’m really excited to start the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation for Children in need,” said Truex. “My whole life I’ve wanted to put myself in a position where I could give back to my community and children that are less fortunate than I was. Growing up, my family didn’t have much, but what we did have was always shared with others. My Mom and Dad have always given back in the community where I grew up, so this foundation is my chance to do the same.”

“I feel very fortunate to be in the situation I’m in right now, so to be able to do this for children that need my help is very special to me. My hope is that my foundation will not only give these children some time away from the worries in their life, but that we can change their lives forever.”

The Martin Truex Jr. Foundation would like to thank the NASCAR Foundation, Mike Helton, and the Dale Earnhardt Foundation for donating $5,000.00 each to help kick start the foundation’s efforts to help children who suffer everyday all over the world.

We are asking all our fans to donate a new stuffed animal of their choice to our foundation. We will donate all of the animals to one of the charities we will be working closely with, the Dove House www.Dovehouse.us http://www.dovehouse.us/. The stuffed animals collected will be given to sexually abused children that reach out for help. The animals give the children a sense of hope, love and security. One stuffed animal can make a huge difference in a young child?s life. All animals can be sent to The Martin Truex Jr. Foundation, PO Box 4180, 344 Rolling Hills Rd, Suite 101 Mooresville NC 28117.

The Martin Truex Jr. Foundation ? Helping Children in Need anticipates a formal announcement introducing the foundation sometime during the weekend of the Lowe?s Race in October. During the announcement all stuffed animals collected will be given to a representative from the Dove House. Martin is very excited to be moving forward with the foundation and will continue to update ?you? our fans on how you can get ‘Hooked on Helping’.

Thank you for all of your support and helping us help children.

Board of Directors 

Martin Truex Jr. – Founder and Chairman

I was born and raised in Mayetta, NJ with my parents and my two siblings. I began my racing career at the age of 10, racing go-karts. When I wasn’t racing, I worked for Sea Watch International, a family owned business. Following in my Dad’s footsteps, I graduated to racing cars in the Busch North Series, while there the staff at Dale Earnhardt Inc. offered me the opportunity to drive in the NASCAR Busch Series. Having won the Busch Series championship in 2004 and 2005, DEI offered me the chance to drive the #1 Bass Pro Shops Chevy in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. I currently reside on Lake Norman in North Carolina and enjoy outdoor activities when my schedule permits.

Kelly Janow – Chief Operating Officer

I was raised in a small town in New Hampshire and went to college not far from my hometown. I received my Bachelors degree in Corporate Public Relations and worked for my parents for several years at our family owned race track. I always wanted to live in the warm weather and to further my career in the racing industry. I moved to North Carolina and accepted a job for the largest merchandise company in the NASCAR Industry. After working there for a few years, I then took a job with Martin Truex Jr. I started working for Martin 3 years ago; my initial job was running his fan club and website while he was racing in the Busch Series. Now it has evolved into managing the Martin Truex Jr. LLC, supervising the running of the fan club and website in the Nextel Series as well as the Director of the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation. 

Chad Warpula – Treasurer

I graduated cum laude from Harding University with a Bachelors degree in Public Administration and Psychology. I continued my education at Wake University School of Law, graduating cum laude in 1998.

I became partner with the law firm of Alston & Bird in Charlotte, North Carolina. I specialized in intellectual property matters, mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, corporate governance, non-profits and sports and entertainment law. My relationship with DEI and Dale and Teresa dates back to 1999, in May of 2006 I became General Counsel at Dale Earnhart, Inc. I have worked with Martin Truex Jr. since he joined DEI as the driver for the Chance II race team where he secured his two Busch Series Championships, and have been involved in setting up the Martin Turex Jr. Foundation.

Richard F. Baker, Jr. – Secretary

I have 25 years of experience in the management of non-profit organization, my work for charitable causes and organization has ranged from the management and philanthropic oversight of major professional sports events to the development of leadership and scholarship programs for a national college education foundation. In 2004, I was named the first Executive Director of The Dale Earnhardt Foundation, and this is my current role today. I am a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and the Southeastern Council of Foundations.

Sherry Pollex – Board Member

I am originally from Michigan and attended Florida State University where I received my Bachelor’s degree in Sport’s Marketing; I went to work for a Sports Marketing firm in Davidson, North Carolina as a Public Relations manager for MCG Sports. After 4 years as a PR Manager, I accepted a new position as a Brand Manager: initiating innovative ways to bring the company’s image to potential sponsors. After a year in this position at MCG Sports, I began to follow my life long dream of being an independent business owner. I am now the sole owner of the only women’s designer boutique in Mooresville, North Carolina.

Continuing his rapid rise to the top ranks of America’s most competitive motor sport division, Martin won the Busch Series championship in 2004 and 2005. He then moved to the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series where he finished the 2006 season 19th in points and come close to his first NEXTEL Cup Victory a number of times, including the season’s final race at Homestead – Miami, where he finished a then career best second.

In 2007, Martin has continued to improve on the track. The driver of the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet won his first Nextel Cup Series race at the Dover International Raceway and has placed himself in position to make the season-ending NEXTEL Chase for the Cup.

His on-track driving abilities, along with his personality, popularity and ability to represent his sponsors in an effective manner, make Martin Truex Jr. the perfect individual to represent your organization.

Personal Statement

“I am really excited to start the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation for Children in Need. Growing up my family didn’t have much, but what we did have was always shared with others where I grew up. My Mom and Dad are great examples of how to give back to the community. I have strived to put myself in that same position and this foundation is my chance to do the same, to support organizations in North Carolina and New Jersey that focus on children.

I’m looking forward to bringing some of these children to the track with me, to be my guest and experience a day at the races. I feel very fortunate to be in the situation I’m in right now, so to be able to do this for them is very special to me. My hope is that me foundation will not only give these children away from the worries in their life, but that we can have a positive impact on the lives forever.”