Get Swabbed & Help Save One-Year-Old-Baby Ayelet & Others Like Her
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (May 16, 2011)– Cequent Consumer Products brand Reese Towpower, the leading manufacturer for towing products and DKMS, the world’s largest bone marrow donor center teamed up for three lifesaving events during NASCAR Sprint Cup Series ALL -Star week in Charlotte, NC . The public will have an opportunity to get swabbed and save a potential life by registering to become a bone marrow donor with DKMS. Reese Towpower is a 2011 sponsor of JTG Daugherty Racing and 2000 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship driver, Bobby Labonte, who is driving the No. 47 Reese Towpower car in the Sprint Showdown at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Labonte is vying for a coveted spot in the All-Star Race Saturday May 21st by the Sprint Fan Vote or by securing a transfer spot during the Sprint Showdown.
Race Fans can come out, get swabbed to save a life and see the race car and the Reese/ DKMS display during the All Star week- long celebration in Charlotte. The events kick off at The NASCAR Hall of Fame (400 Martin Luther King Blvd. between Caldwell and Brevard near the box office) from 1- 5pm May 23rd and 24th. Labonte’s No. 47 Reese Towpower “getswabbed.org” car will be on display along with the Reese DKMS display. Reese Towpower will also hold a drawing for tickets to a future NASCAR race and DKMS will be registering for potential lifesaving bone marrow transplant donors on site.
One-year-old Ayelet Galena has a rare bone marrow failure disorder and will not survive if she doesn’t have a transplant soon. Ayelet is not alone. Leukemia and other blood cancers are the number one disease children die of in the U.S. Sadly, no one in Ayelet’s family is a match so she has to rely on the kindness of strangers to save her life. Hindy, Ayelet’s mother says, “I know there is some charitable soul out there who can save my daughter. We must find that person, that match. Please do a simple cheek swab to help Ayelet and many other patients to see if you can be that match.”
“This is a perfect opportunity for race fans to support DKMS in the fight against Leukemia and to help educate people that a life can actually be saved just by joining the national registry by swabbing the inside of your cheeks,” said Shannon Ketvertes, Communications Manager, Cequent Consumer Products. “Little Ayelet is new to the world and she and others like her deserve a fair chance at life. Please come to the events and register.”
The partners will also participate in the Fifth Annual Michael Waltrip Racing Fan Fest on May 25th from 4-7 pm held at the race shop 20310 Chartwell Center Drive Cornelius, NC 28031. Bobby Labonte will make an appearance at the autograph session from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Other NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers on site that day will be Michael Waltrip, David Reutimann and Martin Truex Jr. Also, signing will be NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Ryan Truex and K&N Pro Series East driver Brett Moffitt.
On February 12th the Reese Towpower/getswabbed.org car raced in the Bud Shootout to help raise awareness for a six-year-old girl named Jordan Jemsek fighting Leukemia in a Charlotte hospital. After the race, thousands of supporters turned out at swabbing events or registered online for home swabbing kits. Since then, a match was found for the child who is now recovering from a bone marrow transplant surgery.
“Cequent Consumer Products brand Reese Towpower, has done a phenomenal job working with DKMS to raise awareness on how to join the bone marrow registry,” Labonte said. “We had the great fortune of helping spread the word on Jordan Jemsek’s fight. After her bone marrow transplant, she’s doing well.”
The awareness that this team created for getswabbed.org has already registered 3,000 bone marrow donors but there are thousands of patients who still have not found their life saving match.
“People from JTG Daugherty Racing, Michael Waltrip Racing, media partners and NASCAR fans got swabbed when they heard Jordan’s story,” said Labonte. “There’s so many others like Jordan. You can go to www.getswabbed.org for more information about DKMS and learn how to register. It’s so simple and I think it is unbelievable the fact that we can make a difference in people’s lives by doing things that are so important, which takes little time away from us.”
You can make a direct impact to save someone’s life by registering as a bone marrow donor at www.getswabbed.org or by visiting the Reese/DKMS display in Charlotte.
Team JTG Daugherty Racing was recently honored with the first quarter NMPA Speedway Motorsports Spirit Award for creating awareness for Bone Marrow Match testing along with partners Reese Towpower, DKMS and Snyder’s-Lance, Inc. who are also committed to saving lives by raising awareness for this cause.
“I’m just really proud of all the hard work that Reese Towpower and the JTG Daugherty Racing team has done with DKMS in helping spread the word on how people can register to be a potential bone marrow donor” said JTG Daugherty Racing co-owner Brad Daugherty. “We’re fortunate to have the opportunity and platform to place emphasis on exposure for something good. We don’t need pats on the backs; we’re just tickled to be able to bring awareness to give back to the community and touch people.”
After the All Star Race, you can catch Labonte driving the No. 47 Reese Towpower car at the Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway Sunday August 7, 2011.
The Events:
NASCAR Hall of Fame www.nascarhall.com May 23 & 24th 1-5 pm
Michael Waltrip Racing www.michaelwaltripracing.com May 25 4- 7 pm
ABOUT US
Reese Towpower® is the leader in the towing products industry and top performing brand for Cequent Consumer Products, of Solon, Ohio. Visit us www.cequent-cpi.comwww.Facebook.com/Reesetowpowerwww.Twitter.com/Reesetowpower
DKMS is the largest bone marrow donor center in the world with over 2.6 million registered donors. DKMS Americas is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization. For more information about DKMS and to learn more about registering as a bone marrow donor, visit www.GetSwabbed.org
JTG Daugherty Racingwww.jtgdaughertyracing.com
www.Facebook.com/pages/JTG-Daugherty-Racing-Fan-Page/101009886634914
