Byers Donates Winnings

May 24, 2012
Jason Byers (photo: Valet)

Racing Series Winner Donates Winnings to SOS Children’s Villages, Jason Byers Gives Back to Help Children in Need

Sharon, CT – Race car driver Jason Byers finished third in the inaugural Atlantic Championship Series race and immediately donated his winnings to SOS Children’s Villages, the official charity of Formula Race Promotions in 2012. Byers, driving the No. 28 Swift 014/Toyota for Swan Racing, is the first driver among Atlantic, F2000 and F1600 competitors to donate his 2012 check to SOS, the world’s largest charity dedicated to providing homes to orphaned, abandoned and foster children.

"Being able to donate my race winnings to my favorite charity, SOS Children's Villages, gives me the additional incentive to finish on the podium,” said Jason Byers. “I was adopted as an infant and I now realize how important it is for a child to experience a loving family. Knowing that the prize money will help make the dream of family for an abandoned or orphaned child come true, makes my racing results much more rewarding to the children and myself"

“Jason’s generosity to SOS children speaks volumes about his gratitude for his adoptive parents,” stated John Allen, Chairman of the SOS Children’s Villages – USA Board of Directors. “At SOS, we know that being raised in a loving family within an involved community, strengthens society locally and globally, affecting generations to come. We hope that others will follow Jason’s lead in support of at-risk children in the U.S. and around the world.”

The global charity sponsors the SOS Children’s Village Pole Award at each race during the season, with a separate pole Championship for the F2000 and F1600 Series going to the driver in each Championship that accumulates the most poles over the course of the 2012 season.

A driver wins a pole when he or she turns the fastest lap time in a 30-minute qualifying session prior to the race, to determine in what order the cars will line up at the start of the race .

The pole winner count will be kept throughout the 2012 season so that the drivers of F1600 and the F2000 Series with the most poles will be awarded the Championship at the end of the season during an awards ceremony at Watkins Glen International.

The winning drivers will be featured on the SOS Children’s Villages web site and will have an SOS child in a country of his or her choice sponsored in their names.

Additionally, SOS Children’s Villages, along with Formula Race Promotions, will run a season-long fundraising campaign for drivers, crew and fans of the F1600, F2000 and Atlantic Champions Series. Funds raised will be used support the charity’s operations as well as to sponsor children for the F1600, F2000 and Atlantic Championship winners.

Donate directly to SOS Children’s Villages in support of the Atlantic Championship Series at http://www.sos-usa.org/ffcs.

About SOS Children's Villages

For over 60 years, SOS Children’s Villages has been dedicated to providing family-based, long-term care to children who can no longer grow up with their biological families. SOS is located in 133 countries including the U.S. SOS also focuses on preventing the conditions that cause children to be orphaned, abandoned and in foster care. Through its Children’s Villages, Family Strengthening Programs, emergency relief programs and schools, SOS impacts the lives of over 2 million people each year. SOS Children's Villages has received numerous honors including the Save the World Award, the Mother Teresa Gold Medal, the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize, and the Vietnam Friendship Medal. For more information about SOS Children's Villages, visit www.sos-usa.org.

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