CONCORD, N.C. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s gloves have become one of the driver's signature looks.
And for the second consecutive season, they will be used to benefit a great cause.
The skeleton-themed racing gloves will be auctioned off as part of The Dale Jr. Foundation's Driven to Give Gloves program after a successful debut campaign in 2015.
Four Patient Champions from Nationwide Children's Hospital will be the focus for the 2016 initiative. Funds will be raised for the hospital's clinical and research programs by auctioning off the race-worn gloves.
Nationwide Children’s is America’s largest pediatric hospital and research center with all care provided regardless of a family’s ability to pay. Driven to Give Gloves kicks off in April with Earnhardt wearing gloves accented in blue, representing autism.
The Driven to Give Gloves Patient Champion for April is 7-year-old Aiden VanWagner. He was diagnosed with autism at an early age but under the care of Nationwide Children's Hospital's Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders has received individualized and comprehensive interventions and is enjoying school in a mainstream classroom. Researchers at Nationwide Children’s have many active research projects underway to determine causes and effective new treatments for autism.