Happy New Year! Changes to our Board!
Happy New Year! The year 2020 starts a new decade for all and some changes for our board!
First & foremost, thank you to EVERY SINGLE PERSON that has supported our charity in one way or another! Without you, we could not give anywhere close to what we give to our local charity partners, including, but not limited to, all of our charity & event sponsors, monetary & item donators, and those of you, so many of you, that have supported one, many, or all of our events throughout the years! With so much wrong in the world, we are getting this right and it feels amazing giving back and helping children! We have some plans this year, to get more information out to you all about what your money is doing for these charities! If you missed the announcement in November, Auto Racers for Kids Charity donated $45,000 to 5 charities this year, toppling our grand total of donations since 2008 at over $400,000!!! Those 5 charities were the Northwest PA Autism Society, where ark is the title sponsor of the Social Lego Club, along with Erie Dawn, The 2nd Harvest Food Bank backpack program, Bethesda Trinity Center & EUMA – The Refuge. There is already a little bit about each of them on our site, but stay tuned as we hope to build on that!
Our longstanding board president, Tom Woolslayer, has made the personal decision to step down as president. Tom spent many years leading Auto Racers for Kids and has built many great relationships around the community benefiting ARK. He does however remain with the board, and is working one on one to help transition our new board president in to her role. Tom will still be seen at all the events, and he has taken on a new role with ARK as he is our new treasurer.
Jill DiMattio, treasurer, has made the decision to end her time with ARK at the conclusion of 2019. Jill has done tremendous work for us, handling all of the banking, taxes, licensing, & beyond over her years on the ARK board. Jill was with us from the beginning and her presence will be greatly missed, but we wish her well in all of her future endeavors!
With that being said, we’d like to welcome Jill Blair into the role of Auto Racers for Kids President. Jill is already transitioning very well into her new role and we know she will continue the great work of ARK! Jill joined Auto Racers just this past year, but she has brought a wealth of knowledge, expertise & connections with her. She is a go-getter and with Tom’s help, we believe all will go great!
Laurie Woolslayer, board secretary has stepped down. Laurie still remains with the charity, but she felt her time as secretary has expired. She is a very busy lady and felt the board needed someone who could give more time to the role. With that, we welcome 2 year board member, Nikki Layton, into the secretary role. Nikki will do great work in the role of the secretary and keep us all organized & up to date on needed information. She already updates the website regulary, is one of the few members that handles the social media and she monitors our charity email account.
We also would like to welcome new members, Matt Patterson & Darlene Kerstetter whom both joined the board in the fall of 2019. Matt joined with the bowling tournament idea and has run with it! Thank you Matt, we look forward to this new event!
As you can see, there are a lot of changes going on behind the scenes, but our mission remains the same. We believe all kids should have access to a safe environment, food, shelter and clothing. We will do everything in our power to continue to provide these necessities to the local children, here in our very own community. ARK will start the year off with our first event, a Bowling Tournament at Eastway Lanes on February 29. All information regarding the tournament is posted on both our facebook and our website! We have filled all 26 team spots, so our tournament is sold out! We couldn’t be more excited for our first ever bowling event! We hope to see you there, whether bowling or supporting the event! There will be games of chance, a pie in the face contest and a raffle auction!
Auto Racers for Kids Charity
Po Box 9602, Erie PA 16506
Autoracersforkids@gmail.com
President – Jill Blair (814)746-1111
Vice President – Scott Bonnell
Treasurer – Tom Woolslayer
Secretary – Nikki Layton
Board Members: Jeff Plyler, Mike Langer, Kathy Rohrer, Laurie Woolslayer, Justin Plyler, Brandon Groters, Erin Groters, Chad Wagner, Matt Patterson, Darlene Kerstetter
