Speedway raises $450,000 for Sonoma County nonprofits

More than 50 Sonoma County nonprofit organizations will benefit from nearly $450,000 in grants recently awarded by the Sonoma chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities, the charitable arm of Sonoma Raceway.

In total, $448,000 was distributed to youth-serving organizations in Sonoma County in 2018 including almost a dozen in Sonoma Valley, including Art Escape; Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma Valley; Friends in Sonoma Helping (FISH); Girl Scouts of Northern California; Girls on the Run Sonoma County; Hanna Boys Center; Social Advocates for Youth; Kid Scoop News; La Luz Center; Land Paths; Legal Aid of Sonoma County; North Bay Children’s Center; Redwood Empire Food Bank; Sonoma Ecology Center; Sonoma Valley Education Foundation; Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance; Sonoma Valley Teen Services.

The amount raised this fiscal year marks $40,000 more than 2017 and included $60,000 that was donated directly to the new Wildfire Relief Fund.

The charity held several fundraising events and partnerships in 2018, the majority of which are held during the raceway’s major-event weekends, including races for NASCAR, NHRA and Indycar.

Speedway Children’s Charities is a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds for qualified children’s organizations.

For more information, visit www.speedwaycharities.org/sonoma/ or contact Cheri Plattner at cplattner@SonomaRaceway.com or 933-3950.