NASCAR Driver Erik Jones, CRAFTSMAN® and Ace Hardware Team Up to Support Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals®

14th Annual Racing for a Miracle Program features superhero-themed paint scheme designed by children on track at Charlotte Cup Race

CONCORD, NC, October 6, 2020 – Stanley Black & Decker’s (NYSE: SWK) iconic CRAFTSMAN® brand has teamed up with Ace Hardware Foundation and Erik Jones of Joe Gibbs Racing to raise funds and awareness for Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) Hospitals.

Celebrating the 14th annual Racing for a Miracle program, the companies will donate $100,000 to support the vital work of CMN Hospitals while also providing four CMN Hospitals children an unforgettable experience at this weekend’s Charlotte NASCAR Cup Race.

Four children from Atrium Health Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte helped design the paint scheme by imagining their own superhero powers: Zackery, age 14, and Sofia, age 12, both chose the power of teleportation; Christian, age 12 selected invincibility; and Kyler, age 12, selected the power to be invisible. With COVID-19 limiting the traditional Racing for a Miracle at-track experiences, the paint scheme was unveiled in a victory-lane style burnout amidst a cloud of white smoke. The children will be honorary JGR team members for the race, with their cardboard cut-outs sitting in Jones’ pit box during the race. The children also had opportunities for remote and virtual experiences to replicate race-day fun, including a virtual e-race with Jones.

“I’m excited to be back supporting the Racing for a Miracle program for the second year in a row,” said Jones. “This program and the kids from Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals are inspirational. I’m proud to be driving the CRAFTSMAN® Toyota this weekend, motivated by the superhero powers chosen by the four real-life heroes who helped design our Camry. I wish Zackery, Christian, Sofia and Kyler could be at the track with us this weekend, but I hope they’ll be watching and know this race is for them. It would be really cool to get them to victory lane and be able to celebrate not only them, but everyone who supports this great program.”

“With limitations on at-track attendance, we had fun bringing the program to life virtually this year with the help of our partners,” said Tony Merritt, Director of Sponsorships for Stanley Black & Decker. “This is always our favorite moment of the year, and it’s so inspiring to see the excitement of these incredible kids. The Ace Foundation and CRAFTSMAN are proud to honor them at the Charlotte NASCAR race this weekend in support of the tremendous work of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.”

Each year, CRAFTSMAN presents the Ace Hardware Foundation with a $100,000 donation to benefit their partner, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Of this donation, the Ace Hardware Foundation will directly donate $25,000 to Levine Children’s Hospital. For more than 14 years, the Racing for a Miracle program has donated a total of $1.4 million to the Ace Hardware Foundation to support CMN Hospitals around the country. As the official charitable division of Ace Hardware Corporation, the Ace Hardware Foundation helps enhance the vision of being the “Helpful Place” in local communities across the country and around the globe through charitable giving.

“We are so appreciative of the support and incredible experience these organizations have given Levine Children’s Hospital,” said Callie Dobbins RN, MSN, NEA-BC, Facility Executive, Levine Children’s Hospital and Jeff Gordon Children’s Center. “Not only will their donation help make a difference in our children’s lives, but also the experience they’ve given their honorary crew members will never be forgotten.”

For more information on Racing for a Miracle or to make a donation to Children’s Miracle Network visit Craftsman.com/club.

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Media Contacts:
Alex Snow
Weber Shandwick
636-591-4802
ASnow@webershandwick.com

Abigail Dreher
Stanley Black & Decker
860-922-4598
Abigail.Dreher@sbdinc.com

 

About CRAFTSMAN®

CRAFTSMAN® is an American icon that homeowners, home builders, auto enthusiasts and master mechanics have trusted since 1927 – and today’s CRAFTSMAN® continues that legacy. With a focus on reliable, high-performance tools, storage and equipment, CRAFTSMAN® has revived its long-established pride in superior quality. Now it’s easier than ever to get the tools trusted for generations at more places than ever. For more information visit www.craftsman.com or follow CRAFTSMAN® on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

 

About Stanley Black & Decker 

Stanley Black & Decker is a purpose-driven, $14 billion revenue industrial organization. Stanley Black & Decker has 61,000 employees in more than 60 countries and operates the world’s largest tools and storage business, the world’s second-largest commercial electronic security services company, a leading engineered fastening business as well as Oil & Gas and Infrastructure businesses. The company’s iconic brands include Black & Decker, Bostitch, CRAFTSMAN, DEWALT, FACOM, Irwin, Lenox, Porter Cable and Stanley. Stanley Black & Decker is a company for the makers and innovators, the craftsmen and the caregivers, and those doing the hard work to make the world a better place. Learn more at: https://www.stanleyblackanddecker.com/

 

About Ace Hardware

Ace Hardware is the largest retailer-owned hardware cooperative in the world with more than 5,300 locally owned and operated hardware stores in approximately 70 countries. Headquartered in Oak Brook, Ill., Ace and its subsidiaries operate an expansive network of distribution centers in the U.S. and have distribution capabilities in Ningbo, China; Colon, Panama; and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Since 1924, Ace has become a part of local communities around the world and known as the place with the helpful hardware folks. For more information, visit acehardware.com or newsroom.acehardware.com.

 

About the Ace Hardware Foundation

As the official charitable division of Ace Hardware Corporation, the Ace Hardware Foundation helps enhance the vision of being the “Helpful Place” in local communities across the country and around the globe through charitable giving. The Ace Foundation provides support and philanthropic opportunities to its consumers, retail store owners, vendors and team members to give back to local communities through fundraising efforts for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Ace Hardware has been a national partner for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals for the last 29 years, raising over $125 million during that time.

 

About Atrium Health

Atrium Health is a nationally recognized leader in shaping health outcomes through innovative research, education and compassionate patient care. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Atrium Health is an integrated, not-for-profit healthcare system with over 55,000 teammates at nearly 40 hospitals and hundreds of care locations throughout the Carolinas and Georgia. Atrium Health provides top-ranked pediatric, cancer and heart care to patients, as well as specialized musculoskeletal programs and organ transplants. Ranked among U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals for cancer treatment and in eight  different pediatric specialties, it has also received the American Hospital Association’s Quest for Quality Prize and was the recipient of the 2020 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Health Equity Award for its efforts to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in care. Its flagship hospital, Atrium Health’s Carolinas Medical Center, is the region’s only Level I trauma center and is consistently rated among the nation’s best. Atrium Health is also a leading-edge innovator in virtual care and mobile medicine, providing care close to home and in the home. With a commitment to every community it serves, Atrium Health seeks to improve health, elevate hope and advance healing – for all. Over the past three years, Atrium Health has provided nearly $2 billion per year in free and uncompensated care and other community benefits.

 

About Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals®

Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals® raises funds and awareness for 170 member hospitals that provide 32 million treatments each year to kids across the U.S. and Canada. Donations stay local to fund critical treatments and healthcare services, pediatric medical equipment and charitable care. Since 1983, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals has raised more than $7 billion, most of it $1 at a time through the charity’s Miracle Balloon icon. Its various fundraising partners and programs support the nonprofit’s mission to save and improve the lives of as many children as possible. Find out why children’s hospitals need community support, and learn about your member hospital, at CMNHospitals.org and facebook.com/CMNHospitals.