Kicking Off the 2024 IMSA Season: Austin Hatcher Foundation Heads to Daytona for Fundraising and Awards

• Foundation begins tenth season as “proud charity” of IMSA
• IMSA to receive 2023 Impact Award, Variety of auctions for the Foundation to take place throughout the weekend

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (Jan. 23, 2024) – The Austin Hatcher Foundation for Pediatric Cancer (AHF) will head to the Daytona International Speedway in Florida this weekend for The Rolex 24 at DAYTONA, the annual sports car endurance race that celebrates the kickoff of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. AHF, a “Proud Charity of IMSA,” will be presenting IMSA with an award recognizing their efforts in supporting the foundation’s mission of providing 100%-free counseling and therapy services to families facing childhood cancer.

IMSA has impacted children with cancer and their entire family by giving AHF a platform to raise over $3,600,000 since 2009. The foundation was the official proud charity of the American Le Mans Series for five years before becoming one of two official “Proud Charities of IMSA” in 2014. After receiving the 2022 Impact Award last year, IMSA will be presented with the 2023 Impact Award this weekend at a press conference with AHF President and CEO, Amy Jo Osborn.

Photo from last year's award ceremony: John Doonan (left) accepts 2022 Impact Award. Bryan Hixon (right) accepts 2022 Humanitarian Award. Amy Jo Osborn (center) will present 2023 awards this weekend.

"We could not be more grateful for our partnership with IMSA," said AHF President and CEO, Amy Jo Osborn. "Not only does this relationship allow us to work with phenomenal companies and individuals, but our partnership with IMSA directly impacts the foundation's families battling pediatric cancer."

Partnering with IMSA over the years has allowed AHF to create relationships with various sports car teams, automobile manufacturers, team owners, drivers, fans and racing-themed artists. These relationships are responsible for at-track auctions of artwork, photography and sports car racing memorabilia that go directly toward funding AHF’s comprehensive services for entire families facing childhood cancer.

Acclaimed motion sports artists Roger Warrick and Bill Patterson will appear this weekend preparing multiple paintings for live auction in a variety of fan favorite areas. Both Warrick and Patterson regularly donate a portion of their work for at-track auctions to benefit and support the foundation.

• Friday, January 26, Patterson will be painting in the Corvette Corral at 11 a.m., and the unique piece of artwork will be auctioned live shortly after at 12 p.m. This will be the only live auction taking place this day.
• On Saturday, January 27, Patterson will begin creating a second signature piece in the PorschePlatz Corral at 9:30 a.m. The painting will be auctioned soon after completion in the same location at 10:30 a.m.
• Also on Saturday, Warrick will create one of his famous live-paintings beginning at 2 p.m. in the BMW Corral. Warrick’s piece will then be auctioned a few hours later at 5:30 p.m.
• Patterson will then create a live piece in the Daytona International Speedway Rolex Lounge at 6:00 p.m. This piece will be live auctioned beginning at 7:00 p.m.
• Copies of Patterson’s 2024 motion sports prints can be purchased anytime at https://one.bidpal.net/rolex24/browse/all.
  

All proceeds raised through these live auctions and through the foundation’s IMSA partnerships go directly towards AHF’s mission of erasing the effects of pediatric cancer, supporting not only the diagnosed child, but their parents and siblings too. The foundation is the nation's only 100%-free “whatever-it-takes-to-empower-families-to-thrive'' pediatric cancer foundation. AHF provides free services to every member of the family through a variety of evidence-based programs- such as Mental and Behavioral Health Therapy, Grief Counseling, Occupational Therapy, Neuro-Psych Testing, Family Programs and more.

To learn more about the Austin Hatcher Foundation, visit https://www.hatcherfoundation.org/.

For more information about The Rolex 24 at DAYTONA race and for the weekend’s broadcast schedule, visit https://www.imsa.com/events/2024-rolex-24-at-daytona/.