Are you as amazed as I am that it's already November?! As another year comes swiftly to a close, we should all take time for reflection. As a charitable organization, we are thankful for those of you whose volunteer service impacts the lives of others and our communities. Volunteerism remains strong with one in four adults volunteering in our country. The NASCAR Foundation has established the encouragement and support of volunteerism as one of our major efforts. Through the Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award that honors our founder, Betty Jane France, we annually receive and review hundreds of nominees from which four finalists are selected. The stories of these four outstanding, everyday champions and the charities they serve are told through special appearances at NASCAR races, our marketing efforts and those of our supporters and sponsors. We are blessed this year that Nationwide has joined us as Presenting Sponsor of the Award and is helping us spread the word about each of our finalists and their work for children. For the next few weeks, we are giving you a more in-depth look at each of this year's finalists. These outstanding volunteers will touch your heart, so please stay tuned as each of these champions for children share their passion. And you can help - vote for your favorite every day, share these stories through social media, and tune in to the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards at Wynn Las Vegas at 9 p.m. ET on NBCSN, to see the winner of this year's Award! Please accept our grateful appreciation for all your support!Q&A with Jeff HansonRepresenting the Children's Tumor FoundationWhat does it mean to you to be among the finalists for The NASCAR Foundation's Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award presented by Nationwide this year?It is an honor to be a finalist for The NASCAR Foundation's Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award presented by Nationwide. Mrs. France is an amazing role model and I am proud that my philanthropic efforts on behalf of children's charities has been recognized for an award named in her honor.How does being selected as a finalist further your cause?The Children's Tumor Foundation (CTF) is a small organization funding research for a big disorder: neurofibromatosis, or NF. NF affects one in 3,000 people - which is more common than Huntington's disease, Duchenne muscular dystrophy and cystic fibrosis combined! Yet, you have likely never heard of it. NASCAR is one of the most popular sports in the United States. The exposure that an affiliation with The NASCAR Foundation can bring to an organization like CTF, and the awareness of NF in general, is enormous. Why did you choose to work with this organization and/or cause?I was born with NF. When I was 6-years-old, doctors found a tumor on my optic nerve (the nerves in your eyes) and began treatment. Chemotherapy and radiation caused me to lose my sight by the time I was 12. My first fundraising idea - Jeff's Bistro - sold my hand-painted note cards, and I decided to donate the money to CTF. CTF is the world leader in funding NF research, and I want to help make a difference in the lives of others, who like me, are living with NF.What inspires you and your personal commitment to your cause?I have been blessed. While being diagnosed with NF is not anything I would wish on anyone else, it has changed my life in ways I could not have imagined. My art makes me happy. Helping others through my art makes me happy. I don't want to be known as the kid who lost his vision because of an NF tumor. I want to be known as the kid who used his art to raise a million dollars for charity.What has been the most rewarding moment during your work with your charity so far?Working with the Children's Tumor Foundation's Racing4Research program has been so rewarding. In 2014 and 2015, we worked together to use my art to create liveries for six professional race cars. Not only was it amazing to see my art racing around the track at 180 mph, it was most rewarding to meet children in Daytona Beach, FL who live with NF and to see how much it meant to them knowing that a kid with NF had created the artwork used on the race cars. They took as much pride in those race cars as I did! Is there anything else you would like voters to know about you, your charity and your work? I am a kid from Kansas who was faced with a choice: I could have felt bad for myself because NF cost me my vision, or I could have chosen to live a life with purpose. I chose not to let my "CLOD" (my nickname for the tumor on my optic nerve) define me but to live my life with a purpose instead - to change the world through art. I hope to help find a cure for NF by raising money for the Children's Tumor Foundation through my artwork. To learn more about The NASCAR Foundation's Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award presented by Nationwide and each of the national finalists through their unique video, please visit: www.NASCAR.com/Award.
