Dale Earnhardt Jr. leaves Stocks for Tots in Mooresville Tuesday night before every fan wanting his autograph is satisfied.
Earnhardt Jr. did come to the event, which raises money for the Stop Child Abuse Now network and other charities that help abused children. He signed for just over 200 fans in about an hour and a quarter before leaving for another commitment.
The problem is that about 350 wristbands were distributed for Earnhardt Jr.’s room. So not everybody who thought they’d be getting to meet Earnhardt Jr. actually did.
Some of them who didn’t told me I should write about how the sport’s most popular driver disappointed a lot of people. I thought the real point was that he came in the first place. Not every driver did.
I understand the frustrations. But Stocks for Tots organizers said clearly in pre-event publicity that not all drivers were committed to staying for the full scheduled two hours.
Certainly, a better job could have been done of matching the number of wristbands to the time alloted to sign. It’s bad if around 150 people went home feeling misled.
This is why some athletes don’t sign autographs at all. Earnhardt Jr. could have been there until 2 a.m. and people would have still been in line. Athletes know if they sign for 2,000 people and then leave, the 2,001st person will believe that he’s the biggest jerk in the world. So they don’t sign at all, and that’s wrong.
Again, it’s a bad deal that some people left unhappy. Stocks for Tots is a great event and it would be terrible if their disappointment leads to people not attending and supporting its great causes. Things could have been handled better.
But Earnhardt Jr. was there and that means he did more than he had to do.
http://www.thatsracin.com/mld/thatsracin/16256384.htm
Why would Brains go to the Chart House to buy a burger and Coke to go?
Jeff Gordon Children's Hospital Opens
http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/news?slug=ap-nascar-gordon-childrenshospital&prov=ap&type=lgns
By JENNA FRYER, AP Auto Racing Writer
December 16, 2006
CONCORD, N.C. (AP) -- Jeff Gordon saw firsthand the strain and heartache childhood illnesses bring early in his career when Ray Evernham's young son was diagnosed with leukemia.
Watching his crew chief battle to find top-notch care for Ray J. stuck with Gordon, who made children's charities a top priority of his foundation. His largest contribution yet came to fruition Saturday when the ribbon was cut at the Jeff Gordon Children's Hospital, a 28-bed pediatric unit at Northeast Medical Center.
``I was introduced to these illnesses through Ray Evernham and Ray J., and after you see somebody go through that it makes you want to give your time to things like Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Riley Hospital for Children (in Indianapolis),'' Gordon said.
``Then you are meeting the kids and meeting the doctors and you become so educated that you are just drawn into it and you can't help but want to give whatever you can.''
So when Northeast officials approached the Jeff Gordon Foundation about helping their efforts to build a children's hospital, Gordon immediately pledged $1 million of the roughly $11 million needed for the project. The donation is on top of the annual fundraising he does for the Riley hospital and the work he does almost every weekend during the NASCAR season for Make-A-Wish.
Located not far from Lowe's Motor Speedway and many of NASCAR's race shops, the hospital will serve six counties and eliminate the need to travel to Charlotte for specialized pediatric care.
Gordon, who is expecting his first child in July, said helping Northeast was a logical fit.
``One, Cabarrus County had a need for it and Northeast is a top-notch center,'' Gordon said. ``But two, so many of our employees at Hendrick Motorsports and just in racing in general live around this county. It made perfect sense for this foundation and for the families who need it.''
Despite the hospital's name, it doesn't have an overwhelming racing theme. In fact, aside from an autographed children's rocking chair, there is almost nothing else racing related.
Instead, Gordon's personal touch centers around four photographs he took during an African safari last year. He asked the hospital to exhibit the pictures of a gazelle, elephant, lion and giraffe, but the hospital took it one step further.
Northeast administrator Donna Craft turned the photos into images that can be found throughout the entire wing and are used as ``way-finding icons'' to identify which part of the hospital a patient is in.
In addition to five intensive care beds, the hospital has only private, single rooms with sofa-beds for parents, sleeping rooms for family members that are equipped with showers, an Internet Cafe for teens, and a child-advocacy center.
The hospital is equipped to handle everything but transplants.
``Every child that needed a higher level of care before this had to go to Charlotte, Winston-Salem or Chapel Hill,'' said administrator Colleen Hole. ``Now we have everything they need right here.''