CONCORD, N.C. -- Jimmie Johnson will be donning a special helmet for Saturday and Sunday's races at Dover International Speedway this weekend.
The driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE wear the Blue Bunny Helmet of Hope for the doubleheader at the Delaware track. In conjunction with the Jimmie Johnson Foundation, the Blue Bunny Helmet of Hope will honor five charities that strive to K-12 public education programs.
This year, the initiative also took into consideration the affect the coronavirus pandemic has had on education programs across the country.
The five recipients each will receive a $25,000 grant, will have their charity name on Johnson's helmet and will have a Blue Bunny Ice Cream party.
“The events of the past few months have been challenging for everyone including non-profits raising funds for programs and services that assist students and schools,” Johnson said. “For the past nine years, the focus of the Blue Bunny Helmet of Hope program has been providing grants and visibility for non-profits that directly support K-12 public education.
"(My wife) Chani and I are grateful for our partnership with Blue Bunny, and the incredible generosity of Mike and Cheryl Wells. We hope these grants help ease some of the burden these organizations are facing, and I’m pretty sure there are a lot of happy kids looking forward to some ice cream soon.”
This year’s grant recipients are: DMF Youth, Inc. (New York, N.Y.); Foodbank of Siouxland (Sioux City, Iowa); National Mental Health Association of Georgia (Atlanta); TABLE, Inc. (Carrboro, North Carolina) and Working in the Schools (Chicago).;
To date, the Blue Bunny Helmet of Hope program has contributed more than $1.3 million to 121 different charities. For additional information about the Blue Bunny Helmet of Hope program, visit helmetofhope.org.
To see Johnson sport the Blue Bunny headgear, tune in to this weekend's doubleheader at Dover International Speedway on Saturday, Aug. 22 and Sunday, Aug. 23. Both races will be at 4 p.m. ET on NBCSN.