Driver Jimmie Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports donate Atlanta race winnings
Matches by Lowe's and Bruton Smith push total donation to over $1 million
MOORESVILLE, N.C., Oct. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Jimmie Johnson took the
checkered flag at Sunday's NASCAR NEXTEL CUP race at Atlanta Motor
Speedway, but the American Red Cross' California Wildfire relief efforts
might have been the biggest winner.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20031205/LOWLOGO )
Johnson and his Hendrick Motorsports team joined with their sponsor
Lowe's (NYSE: LOW) and Sonic Automotive (NYSE: SAH) Chairman Bruton Smith
to contribute more than $1 million to the Red Cross California wildfire
relief efforts. Johnson, 32, a native of El Cajon, Calif., plans to present
a check to the American Red Cross at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday before
the race.
"I am very proud of everyone who has jumped on board with us to donate
winnings to the victims of California fires," said Johnson whose Hendrick
Motorsports team earned $343,861 in race winnings on Sunday. "I appreciate
Lowe's, Hendrick Motorsports and Bruton Smith, Sonic Automotive and the
NASCAR community for their effort to help out the people in Southern
California during this devastating time."
In addition to matching the race winnings, Lowe's designated each of
its 85 stores in California as cash donation sites for customers and
employees. Those donations plus another match by Lowe's raised an
additional $10,000.
"The donations to the Red Cross California wildfire relief efforts were
instrumental in our ability to provide assistance to residents,
firefighters and first responders in Southern California," said Kathleen
Loehr, interim senior vice president of Development at the American Red
Cross. "This kind of help and generosity is critical during times of
disaster."
Smith, who also is the founder and chairman of Speedway Motorsports
(NYSE: TRK), said, "On behalf of all of our associates at Sonic Automotive,
some of which have been affected by these fires, I'm delighted that we
could be involved. I commend Jimmie on his victory on and off the track
Sunday in Atlanta. He is a wonderful champion in so many ways. There's a
lot of work to do in California and this effort will help."
The Red Cross is providing people affected by the fires, including
residents, firefighters and first responders, with shelter, food, water,
clean up and comfort kits, counseling, basic healthcare and family
connecting services. The California wildfires have burned almost half a
million acres and forced the evacuation of over a million residents.
The Red Cross has determined that current financial donations and
pledges will cover the Red Cross' cost for its response to the wildfires,
estimated not to exceed $12-15 million.
ABOUT LOWE'S:
Lowe's is a proud supporter of American Red Cross, having donated more
than $17.5 million since 1999 to aid in relief efforts. In 2006, the Lowe's
Charitable and Educational Foundation awarded $15 million to diverse
organizations across the United States. Lowe's also encourages volunteerism
through the Lowe's Heroes program, a company-wide employee volunteer
initiative. Lowe's is a FORTUNE(R) 50 company with fiscal year 2006 sales
of $46.9 billion and has more than 1,450 stores in 49 states. For more
information, visit Lowes.com/community.
ABOUT SONIC AUTOMOTIVE: Sonic Automotive, Inc., a Fortune 300 company
based in Charlotte, N.C., is one of the largest automotive retailers in the
United States operating 174 franchises and 36 collision repair centers.
Sonic can be reached on the Web at http://www.sonicautomotive.com. NYSE: SAH
ABOUT AMERICAN RED CROSS:
All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by
voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can
help the victims of thousands of disasters across the country each year,
disasters like the California wildfires, by making a financial gift to the
American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to
provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to victims of
disaster. The American Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to
designate your donation to a specific disaster, please do so at the time of
your donation. Call 1-800- REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish).
Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to your local
American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243,
Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution
by visiting http://www.redcross.org.
SOURCE Lowe's
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Related links:
http://www.lowes.com
http://www.redcross.org http://www.sonicautomotive.com
Photo Notes:
NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20031205/LOWLOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
CONTACT:
Chris Ahearn, Lowe's Companies, Inc.,
+1-704-758-2304, Chris.B.Ahearn@lowes.com; or Kristine Curley,
GMR, +1-816-679-5091, kcurley@gmrlivepr.com
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