Thanks to generous fans and the combined efforts of Wish For Our Heroes (W4OH), the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indiana National Guard, 117 Indiana-based soldiers will attend the Crown Royal Presents the Curtiss Shaver 400 at the Brickyard powered by BigMachineRecords.com Sunday, July 29 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Fans donated $10,000 to the W4OH campaign that is providing reserved seats for military members for the 19th annual NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at IMS. A national, non-profit organization based in Noblesville, Ind., Wish For Our Heroes coordinated the purchase and delivery of the tickets to the participating soldiers.
For the first time, Wish For Our Heroes provided fans with the opportunity to help send active United States military or veterans to the Indianapolis 500, the Crown Royal Presents the Curtiss Shaver 400 at the Brickyard powered by BigMachineRecords.com or the Red Bull Indianapolis GP in 2012.
The “Wish Fund” program is accepting donations to send soldiers to the 2012 Red Bull Indianapolis GP MotoGP race Sunday, Aug. 19 at IMS.
Wish For Our Heroes provides fans three ways to salute American service members through contributions or donations at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/wish4ourheroes or www.wish4ourheroes.org:
- Contribute funds: Contribute $5 or more toward the purchase of a 2012 IMS event ticket for an active-duty service member or veteran.
- Purchase tickets: Purchase a 2012 IMS event ticket for an active-duty service member or veteran.
- Donate tickets: Donate extra or unused 2012 IMS event tickets to an active-duty service member or veteran.
Fans may also make donations to send soldiers to the Red Bull Indianapolis GP during the pre-race infield concert before the start of the Crown Royal Presents the Curtiss Shaver 400 at the Brickyard powered by BigMachineRecords.com on Sunday, July 29. Ten active-duty soldiers will be in the concert crowd accepting donations.
Fans who donate the purchase price of a ticket to the “Wish Fund” can designate the service branch and service status (active, reserves, National Guard, veteran, wounded veteran) of the ticket recipient. “Wish Fund” contributors who donate tickets or the purchase price of a ticket also can receive a picture of the military recipient and learn more about their dedicated service to the country.
Wish For Our Heroes strives to relieve the burdens of family separation, reintegration for deployed soldiers, hardship circumstances and other means of assistance not covered by existing military charities. W4OH is a tax-exempt charity under Code Section 501(c)(3).
