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"The Chet"
presented by Comerica to benefit St. Johnıs Home
MARNE, MI - Berlin Raceway and Comerica are proud to
announce that the fourth annual "The Chet" race, to be
held on Wednesday, August 18, will benefit St. John's
Home, Michigan's premiere residential treatment program
for emotionally troubled children and adolescents. The
Comerica Bank-sponsored race, which will feature NASCAR
stars Bobby Labonte and Johnny Benson, is held in memory
of track founder Chet Mysliwiec.
Berlin Raceway and Comerica will donate one dollar for
every ticket sold from the August 18 race to St. John's
Home. All funding for the home comes from charitable
contributions from the community, such as the Berlin
Raceway/Comerica fundraiser.
St. John's Home is a nationally acclaimed,
non-denominational, non-profit organization that has been
devoted to West Michigan's children since 1889. Located on
Knapp St. in Grand Rapids, St. John's is the only youth
home in America designed by kids, for kids. The home
includes a residential treatment program for 60 abused and
neglected children and adolescents; the KidsFirst program,
an emergency shelter care program for Kent County youth
that sees more than 600 youth each year; the Champions for
Life Host Homes program, a foster family program; and the
Discovery Program, an adolescent substance abuse center
for teens. St. John's boasts a success rate of more than
90% of their students (vs. the state average of 55%) who
leave the home to become economically independent and is
the only home in the country that guarantees every student
a college education or vocational training after high
school.
This is the fourth year that the partnership between
Berlin Raceway and Comerica has resulted in contributions
to community organizations. Contributions totaling close
to $22,000 have been made to organizations such as the
Berlin 4-H program (to build the new pig barn for the
Berlin Fair) and the Todd Senneker Memorial Foundation,
which awards a scholarship to a graduating senior from
Wayland Union High School in memory of the late Berlin
Raceway driver.
Other organizations benefitting from monetary donations
through Berlin Raceway's Community Support program include
the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, the Chris Bradley
Memorial Scholarship Fund, the Marne Lions Club and the
Wright Township Sewer Fund. Berlin and its partners have
contributed a total of $42,437 to the community through
this program.
Lew Chamberlin, Whitecaps Racing CEO, stressed the
importance of the organization's commitment to the
community. "It has always been our philosophy, in a
business like ours where the community supports us and
helps us be successful, to give back to the community
whenever possible. I'm proud to be able to partner with
Comerica and use an event such as The Chet, with Bobby
Labonte and Johnny Benson both participating, to support a
worthy endeavor such as St. John's Home."
Joe Davio, Regional Bank President of Comerica Bank,
indicated that Comerica believes in supporting the
community and explained that the bank is especially proud
to partner with a business client, Whitecaps Racing, in
its efforts to enhance the community. "Children and teens
are our future and St. John's Home has a proud history of
helping children in need for more than 115 years. The
results exhibited at St John's Home are impressive. It is
wonderful to provide up to $5,000 to such a
results-oriented organization." We support many community
organizations and find it particularly even more rewarding
when we can work with one of our clients to support our
mutual interests."
Tickets to "The Chet" are $21 in advance and $22 at the
door. Children 3-12 are half price and 2 and under are
free. Pit passes are $25. Tickets can be purchased at the
Berlin Raceway administrative office (2060 Berlin Fair
Drive, Marne, MI) from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through
Friday as well as at the Box Office on racedays. Tickets
are also available online at www.berlinraceway.com and at
www.ticketmaster.com. Gates open at 11 a.m. and the first
race begins at 7 p.m.
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